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In my thirty years of being a therapist I have never witnessed a world event that has impacted everyone’s life to quite the same degree as Covid 19.
The meetings that I have are now about how this virus literally infects and impacts everyone’s emotional well being.
While the general population have many challenges, as doctors you are in a uniquely difficult situation, not only are you carrying the hopes and fears of the British population, but you are also having to deal with your own fears and anxieties as well as coping with the physical demands of caring for those who are literally facing death. Of course this will put enormous strain on your emotional well-being.
It goes without saying that in these challenging times it is important to take time to look after yourself. However, that is easier said than done when you are living on adrenalin, with little sleep having to make quick decisions again and again with limited time to review or process how you are feeling. In order to mitigate against some of these daily stresses, it is important to give time to your basic physical and emotional needs.
It will be perfectly normal that your mind and body will still be racing when you finish your shift – it’s easier said than done to slow down when you’ve been racing for a whole day or night.
Over the coming months I will be writing about the various emotional challenges you might face and shall offer you some advice and guidance which I hope will be of use to some of you.
You Okay, Doc? is a charity that is about building a community where you can share your own individual stories with others who are in similar situations to yourself. Everything is welcome, from the smallest of incidents to the moments when you just want somewhere to sound off.
Please just share your personal story of being a doctor at this time or feel free to raise some questions on particular subjects or themes so that I can cover them in future blog posts. You can email us on [email protected]
About Chris Cherry
Chris is a founding Trustee of You Okay, Doc? and a qualified integrative psychotherapist with over 30 years’ experience. He is fully registered with the UK Council of Psychotherapy and has worked in the NHS, the Crown Prosecution Service, as well as founding a number of organisations. He has appeared on TV & radio programmes including ‘The Truth About Men’ on ITV, Radio 4 and BBC Radio Berkshire.