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Urgent Help
 * Coping Tools
   * Coping & Resilience Tools
   * Multilingual Resources
 * Courses
   * Mental Health
     * Courses for Mixed Anxiety & Depression
     * The Depression Course
     * The Worry Course
     * The Social Anxiety Course
     * The Panic Attacks Course
     * The Health Anxiety Course
     * The OCD Course
     * The Post-Traumatic Stress Course
     * The Perinatal Mental Health Course
     * The Teen Mental Health Course
   * Chronic Condition
     * The Chronic Pain Course
   * Wellbeing
     * Coping with Stress Course
     * Managing Insomnia Course
     * Intro to Mindfulness Course
     * Student Wellbeing Course
   * Course Picker
   * Learning Hub
     * Depression Explained
     * Anxiety & Worry Explained
     * Social Anxiety Explained
     * Panic Attacks Explained
     * Health Anxiety Explained
     * Obsessions & Compulsions Explained
     * Perinatal Mental Health Explained
     * Postnatal Depression Explained
     * Post-Traumatic Stress Explained
     * Chronic Pain Explained
     * Insomnia Explained
     * Stress & Wellbeing Explained
     * Mindfulness Explained
     * Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Explained
     * How To Support a Loved One With Their Course
 * For Clinicians
 * COVID-19
 * Sign Up
 * Log In

Menu
 * Coping Tools
   * Coping & Resilience Tools
   * Multilingual Resources
 * Courses
   * Mental Health
     * Courses for Mixed Anxiety & Depression
     * The Depression Course
     * The Worry Course
     * The Social Anxiety Course
     * The Panic Attacks Course
     * The Health Anxiety Course
     * The OCD Course
     * The Post-Traumatic Stress Course
     * The Perinatal Mental Health Course
     * The Teen Mental Health Course
   * Chronic Condition
     * The Chronic Pain Course
   * Wellbeing
     * Coping with Stress Course
     * Managing Insomnia Course
     * Intro to Mindfulness Course
     * Student Wellbeing Course
   * Course Picker
   * Learning Hub
     * Depression Explained
     * Anxiety & Worry Explained
     * Social Anxiety Explained
     * Panic Attacks Explained
     * Health Anxiety Explained
     * Obsessions & Compulsions Explained
     * Perinatal Mental Health Explained
     * Postnatal Depression Explained
     * Post-Traumatic Stress Explained
     * Chronic Pain Explained
     * Insomnia Explained
     * Stress & Wellbeing Explained
     * Mindfulness Explained
     * Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Explained
     * How To Support a Loved One With Their Course
 * For Clinicians
 * COVID-19
 * Sign Up
 * Log In


Urgent Help



COVID-19


SUPPORTING YOU THROUGH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Access free online tools and learn practical ways to protect your mental health.

Learn More


GETTING THROUGH

Click below to download guided workbooks with practical tips and strategies that
can support your emotional well-being during times of stress and uncertainty.

Calming Your Emotions

Download PDF
Knowing What to Say

Download PDF
Focusing on Solutions

Download PDF

Returning to the Workplace

Download PDF
Tips for Getting Through

Download PDF
Daily Activity Planner

Download PDF


STAYING ON TRACK

Listen to the Staying on Track Audio Guide and learn about three simple things
you can do to stay grounded, connected, and moving forward during the
coronavirus outbreak.

It comes with a resource pack containing a wide range of psychological
strategies you can use to help you get through this tough time.

Download the Audio Guide
Download the Resource Pack


Staying on Track Guide is proudly brought to you in collaboration with our New
Zealand partner Just a Thought.




ADDRESSING SYMPTOMS & MANAGING YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

See if one of these, self-paced online treatment courses could help you tackle
symptoms of a mental health condition. 

Constant Worry


This 6-lesson course is about helping you tackle persistent, intense, and
uncontrollable worry, and learn helpful behaviours for managing repetitive
thoughts about the future.

This course is for people whose worrying is causing significant distress and is
interfering with normal everyday activities.

It may be especially helpful if you have been previously diagnosed with
Generalised Anxiety.


Go To Course
Insomnia


This 4-lesson course is about helping you tackle symptoms of insomnia – chronic
and persistent difficulties with falling or staying asleep, which are affecting
your quality of life.

This course is for people who’ve been experiencing ongoing difficulties with
sleep for at least 3 months.

It may be especially helpful if you have been previously diagnosed with
Insomnia.


Go To Course
Anxiety & Low Mood


This 6-lesson course is about helping you tackle feelings of persistent anxiety,
nervousness, low motivation, and low mood, and learn helpful behaviours to stay
well.

This course is for people whose feelings of anxiety or low mood are
significantly impacting their day to day life.

It may be especially helpful if you have been previously diagnosed with Anxiety
and Depression.


Go To Course

GETTING HELP

Click on the icons below to see where you can seek professional advice and
support.

For the latest information and updates on COVID-19, click here to visit the
Department of Health website or call the National Coronavirus Helpline on 1800
020 080.


PHYSICAL HEALTH




PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH




FINANCIAL SUPPORT




PARENTING SUPPORT




RELATIONSHIP SUPPORT




BUSINESS SUPPORT




KEEPING SAFE

If you need to speak with someone about how you feel or what’s going on for you,
contact one of the services below.

In case of an emergency, dial 000.

LIFELINE AUSTRALIA

Lifeline is staffed by trained volunteer telephone counsellors who are ready to
take calls 24/7.

Call 13 11 14

Visit Website

CARERS AUSTRALIA

Counselling, emotional and psychological support services for carers and their
families.

Call 1800 242 636

Visit Website

RELATIONSHIPS AUSTRALIA

Relationship support services for individuals, families and communities.

Call 1300 364 277

Visit Website

NACCHO

National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

Call 02 6246 9300

Visit Website

PANDA

Counselling, support, and referrals for people affected by anxiety and
depression during and after pregnancy.

Call 1300 726 306

Visit Website

KIDS HELPLINE

Free, private and confidential 24/7 phone and online counselling service for
young people aged 5 to 25.

Call 1800 551 800

Visit Website

MENSLINE AUSTRALIA

Supports Australian men and boys dealing with family and relationship
difficulties. 24/7 telephone and online support.

Call 1300 789 978

Visit Website

BEYOND BLUE

Telephone and online support for those experiencing depression or anxiety.

Call 1300 224 636

Visit Website

BUTTERFLY FOUNDATION

Information, counselling and treatment referral for people with eating
disorders.

Call 1800 334 673

Visit Website

SANE AUSTRALIA

Phone, online counselling, and peer support for people living with complex
mental health issues and the people who care about them.

Call 1800 187 263

Visit Website

SUICIDE CALLBACK SERVICE

Free, professional 24/7 telephone and online counselling to people who are
affected by suicide.

Call 1300 659 467

Visit Website

1800 RESPECT

Counselling and support service for people impacted by sexual assault, domestic
or family violence and abuse.

Call 1800 737 732.

Visit Website

OPEN ARMS

Veterans & Families 24/7 Counselling and support services.

Call 1800 011 046

Visit Website

QLIFE

Australia-wide anonymous, LGBTI peer support and referral services.

Call 1800 184 527

Visit Website

ACGB

Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement. Support for family, friends and
communities coping with grief and loss.

Call 1800 642 066

Visit Website

FAQS

Explore our clinicians’ answers to some commonly asked questions about staying
well during a pandemic.

What can I do to stay well whilst in self-isolation?

To help you get through this, it is important to remember that these self
isolation measures are only temporary (even though it may feel never ending!)
and necessary to keep us as safe and healthy as possible. This will help you to
persevere when the going gets tough. It is hard to know how much longer this
will go for, so it is helpful to just focus on one day at a time, or one hour at
a time.

Plan each day ahead of time, rather than leaving it up to your mood to make the
decisions for you.  Have structured activities in place that give you both
feelings of pleasure and achievement, every day. This will be different for
everyone, so take the time to think about what makes you feel good.

Have variety to minimise boredom. Find a balance between taking care of your
responsibilities, time to unwind and relax, get enough mental stimulation,
exercise, sleep, a healthy diet and maintain relationships as best you can. You
could pick up a new skill or hobby you haven’t had time to before. Our usual
routines, activities and outlets are now limited. So, you may need to be more
creative and flexible with how you go about scheduling your time and planning
your day to day activities.

Spending more time at home is causing tension with my family/housemates. What
can I do?

This is a very common issue! Many of us are not used to spending so much time
together in confined spaces. Everyone is undergoing stress, uncertainty and
adjustment, so it’s no wonder that conflict can easily arise under these
changing circumstances.

It’s helpful to have very open discussions with each other to negotiate a range
of issues, such as who does what and how much housework, how to share the
physical space, how to share resources such as the kitchen, bathroom or
equipment, how much together time vs individual time you would like or need,
sharing the parenting load, how much time the TV will be on, how much time you
spend talking about COVID-19 and other issues that are relevant to your
household. Of course, we cannot pre-empt everything. But the more you plan
ahead, the less likely you’ll get into heated arguments.

Be prepared that people will have different preferences and ideas, and find ways
to calmly come up with workable solutions. Problem solve together. Be willing to
assert your opinions, ask for what you need, listen to others’ views, be patient
and compromise. Set aside time for fun and relaxing things to do together as a
family or household. This can help create positive interactions and
light-hearted moments, which is so important during these trying times.

Working from home is a big change. What can I do to get used to it so I can
focus?

Find ways to regularly keep in touch with colleagues, whether it be via text
messaging, phone calls or video conferencing to maintain connections and
collaborations. Be willing to both initiate and take part when invited. Some
people are doing video conferencing tea breaks or lunch times together so that
some social interaction still takes place.

Clear communication is also key, as it is very easy for things to be
misunderstood or misinterpreted when you are not communicating in person. Check
that you’re on the same page so you can work well together even though you’re
physically apart.

Set up your home office to make it conducive to being productive, get dressed
out of your pyjamas as though you are going to your workplace, make sure you
take adequate rest breaks, get some fresh air to help you stay alert and put
helpful routines and structures in place. It is important to be clear on
work-life boundaries so that work doesn’t overtake your time for family, leisure
and rest. Have a clear start, lunch and finish time.

For those of us working from home and parenting at the same time, this can be
very challenging. Work as a team with your partner or other adults caring for
your children, about how you can best balance competing demands on your time and
attention. 

I feel upset that I had to cancel my big plans. Is it petty of me to be feeling
this way?

No! Many of us have been looking forward to things this year, and our lives have
been disrupted by COVID-19. You may be grieving the loss of things you’ve been
working on, anticipating that it would come to fruition and not know how long
it’ll need to be put on hold for.

You might have had to cancel or postpone a social event or special celebration
like a birthday party, wedding or reunion; the travel restrictions may mean you
can’t go on that holiday you’ve waited ages for or you can’t move somewhere to
start a new life anymore; or your hopes to start a course, job or business
venture just aren’t possible, just to name a few examples.

Even if you hadn’t necessarily made big plans, chances are, how you envisioned
your life to be in 2020 is likely to be quite different to the reality of it. It
can be really difficult to accept this.

It is only natural to feel disappointed, angry, sad, uncertain, upset, fearful,
frustrated, hopeless, helpless and other emotions. Understandably, you could be
feeling lots of emotions at once, or find that your emotions change from day to
day. Give yourself permission to feel whatever you feel, rather than judging
yourself for it or being hard on yourself for feeling the way you are. 

I wasn’t anxious about my health (or loved ones' health) before, but now I am!
Is this normal?

Totally! In fact, a bit of anxiety is useful right now. Why? Because anxiety is
designed to alert us to potential threats in our environment, and mobilises us
to do things to help keep us safe. It is actually a helpful emotion.

COVID-19 is a real threat to our health and safety. If we weren’t anxious about
it, we wouldn’t be staying at home more, physical distancing, handwashing,
handsanitising or using other measures to protect ourselves and others from this
virus. If we weren’t anxious about it, we wouldn’t be seeking medical attention,
getting ourselves tested or following the advice of health professionals.

Even if we’re not worried about getting sick ourselves, worrying about infecting
others means we are more likely to look out for others. Those who are elderly,
immunosuppressed or more vulnerable need us all to take precautions.

Without anxiety, our behaviours are unlikely to change and we would still go
about doing things the way we were, before. This would put us, our loved ones
and those in the wider community at more risk of infection.

So, being more anxious than usual isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Anxiety is
actually needed to help slow the spread and “flatten the curve”. It is also
helpful if it leads to protective action to keep us well and save lives.

I'm feeling anxious about all the new COVID-19 rules and restrictions. How can I
manage this?

We are all facing a lot of change and uncertainty at the moment. Many people are
feeling overwhelmed when everyday, new announcements are made by government and
health officials about where we can or can’t go, what we can or can’t do, who we
can and can’t see, the criteria for who should be tested for coronavirus, what
services are still open or closed, the economic relief efforts and more.

Stay informed as best you can from reliable sources. Give yourself the time and
space to take in all the new information, and work out how this will affect your
life. The reality is that day to day life is looking very different for us all.
With this “new normal” comes a process of adjustment. It can be hard to accept
change, especially when it wasn’t of our choosing.

While a lot of things are outside of our control, we can choose to focus on what
is in our control. Consider the steps you and your household can take to better
adjust to, and cope during this time of transition. There may be ways of
preserving some resemblance of normality with some planning. This may mean
coming up with a new or different set of routines that will help you feel as
calm, grounded and settled as possible.

How do I know if the anxiety I feel is normal or whether I need help?

You could be feeling extremely anxious for a number of reasons. It may be you
are finding self isolation very stressful, know someone who has contracted
COVID-19, you may be sick and be worried you have it, you may have lost your job
or be worried you could lose your job, have increased responsibilities on your
plate right now, have mental health issues already or a host of other reasons.

You could take this test to find out your level of psychological distress. Based
on your responses to this, a suggestion will be made on what may be helpful for
you to consider.

It may be checking out our COVID-19 resources for more coping skills or doing
one of our online courses at THIS WAY UP, based on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy .
If you are feeling that your anxiety is out of control, causing you a lot of
distress or getting in the way of your day to day life, you could consider
seeking more intensive professional help.

This might mean seeing your local GP, who can advise you on what might be most
helpful to you right now. This could include a referral to a clinical
psychologist or psychiatrist. Regardless, be assured there is support available
during this challenging time.

I feel sick every time I watch or hear the news. Is this normal and what should
I do?

Indeed, daily updates with statistics and graphs of coronavirus cases and deaths
is very anxiety provoking.

It can be distressing to see images of sick people in hospital, health
professionals wearing personal protective gear, coffins and photos of people
who’ve lost their lives.

It is confronting to see lines of people at testing clinics, Centrelink or
hoards of people panic buying. Seeing all this can make us cry, worry, get angry
or frustrated, feel shocked, hopeless or helpless.

These emotions are understandable and natural responses. However, if you’re
finding that it’s taking you a long time to bounce back after media exposure,
you can take active steps to change the way you consume the news.

For example, rather than constantly checking, you can put limits on how much you
read/watch so that you get the information you need.

You can choose which articles to read now, or later. You can also choose to read
or watch the news at certain times of the day, for example when you feel you can
cope better so you can get on with the rest of your day.

Or, you might decide not to read or watch at night if that will help you unwind
and get to sleep better. You can also limit how much time you spend scrolling
your news feed on social media.

What can I do to keep my spirits up?

Plenty! The “heaviness” of the pandemic can affect our mood, leaving us feeling
grim and despairing.  As COVID-19 has spread, you may have noticed an escalation
in how much we’re all focusing on it.

Sometimes it can feel like the virus has overtaken our lives, even if we’re not
sick with it ourselves. While this is to be expected given how much COVID-19 is
affecting us, it doesn’t have to be all consuming.

You could try to strike a better balance between how much time you spend talking
about COVID-19 vs other topics of conversation. You could also balance your
exposure to the news with other tv shows, movies or books that are more light
hearted, funny or give you a break.

Maintaining a sense of humour is important at times likes this! Many people have
missed entertainment events that have been cancelled. Some entertainers are now
posting online shows or home concerts. Some zoos are live streaming their
animals. Since places of worship can no longer be attended, you can find videos
or live streams of church services or other ways of staying connected with your
faith practices or community.

Some people have also thought about some positives to this situation, such as
using this as an opportunity to re-evaluate what it most important to them or
slowing down.





OUR PARTNERS




READY TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH?

Start Learning Today



THIS WAY UP is a trusted Australian provider of evidence-based,
internet-delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (iCBT) programs.

As a not-for-profit and joint initiative of St Vincent’s Hospital and the
University of New South Wales, our mission is to reduce the burden of mental
illness by providing accessible online treatment for anxiety disorders and
related mental health conditions.

THIS WAY UP is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and
Ageing under the Telephone Counselling, Self Help and Web-Based Support
Programs.

Our site has been approved as a Head to Health information partner site.

Copyright © St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney Limited | THIS WAY UP is a registered
trade mark of St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney Limited



ADDRESS

mappin

Level 4, The O’Brien Centre
St. Vincent’s Hospital
394-404 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010

email

contact@thiswayupclinic.org

call

(02) 8382 1437

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We wish to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional
custodians of the land we live and work on, and pay our respects to the Elders
both past and present.



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