Leading GP urges people to keep on top of their anxiety about COVID pandemic during lockdown
A leading GP is urging people to take care of themselves during the national lockdown, with doctors seeing lots of “anxiety, worry and stress” in people contacting their local surgeries.
Dr Nigel Wells, Clinical Chair of NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group and a GP at Beech Tree Surgery in Selby, says it is important to take steps to offset concerns caused by discussion of the COVID-19 pandemic in the news and on social media.
With England three weeks into a third national lockdown, which is due to continue for at least another three weeks, Dr Well says it is crucial to take control of the things we can do to ease feelings of anxiety and worry as the Government and its advisers work through the issues surrounding the pandemic.
'Anxious'
“There have been lots of worrying headlines over the weekend, from discussions about what the intervals should be between doses of vaccinations to the virus being more transmissible and maybe the virus being more serious than we think,” Dr Wells says in a video update for the CCG today. “What does this mean for us when we’re looking at the news or talking to people on the phone or the internet about this?
“The issue is that we can’t really do much about these things, and sometimes that can make us very anxious and worried.
“Anxiety, worry and stress are one of the big things that we’re seeing when people are ringing us up in general practice. So it’s maybe time to think again about what we can do for ourselves when we’re in the middle of this pandemic - because it is very, very worrying and it is giving us lots of anxiety.”
Dr Wells recommends looking after yourself to boost your mental health – eating well, trying to sleep well, not drinking too much alcohol and taking daily exercise.
Advice
The advice echoes that on offer from the mental health trust serving York and North Yorkshire – Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust. Charlotte Fisher, Senior Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner from the trust’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service, otherwise known as Talking Therapies, has highlighted 10 ways people can improve their mental wellbeing during the dark nights of the winter lockdown.
Tips also include keeping to a routine, staying active, connecting with loved ones, making the most of the daylight and improving your living space.
The IAPT service is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is experiencing mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety or depression.
For people aged 11-18 in York and North Yorkshire, Kooth is an online advice, information, chat and counselling service staffed by trained counsellors. The service is suitable for those who do not require specialist support, but would like advice, reassurance or some support with their concerns. Kooth is accessible from any device that can access the internet, allowing young people to seek help and support at a time and location that is suitable for them.
'We will get through this'
Dr Wells also has some advice to help make sure worrying thoughts don’t become overwhelming: “Some people also spend a little bit of time in one part of the day to gather up all of those things that might be giving them a bit of a worry to have a think about them. So they write them down and put them to one side, and a specific time of the day they go and think about those, and work through them.
“Interestingly, when you do that, those worries seem a lot less, or it’s easier to work through them and sort out a solution.”
He adds that while things can seem overwhelming and uncertain, he’s confident we will overcome the pandemic – and we can all play our part in beating the virus.
“I know that we will get through this and we will come out the other end. But in the meantime, we have to do all the right things, which is stay at home, cover our face if we go out, wash our hands and keep our distance. Please take care of yourself and stay safe.”
Watch Dr Wells’ video here: https://youtu.be/Ztbz3HoraXY
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