Rebecca-Anne Withey: My message to you through the Coronavirus crisis

I hope as you read this that you’re feeling well. And I hope that as you read this that you’re keeping safe. We’re in strange and difficult times now, dear readers, and I understand how a lot of my deaf friends are feeling isolated right now – both physically and mentally.

If this is you – you’re not alone. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by all the changes and all the news – that is perfectly understandable. I’ve felt the same.

So I hope in me writing this that it may be a reminder that now – more than ever- it’s time to slow down, breathe and be kind to ourselves.

The news of a virus arriving in our home country was worrying to begin with. And then to realise that we were losing people to the virus, perhaps people we know and love – has frightened and upset us even more.

The media hasn’t really helped to keep us calm, as most of you will probably agree. By using scaremongering words and sending out ripples of panic, we’ve seen the effect of this with the stockpiling of food and hostility within the community.

With theatres shutting their doors, we saw how the eagerly awaited tour of Oliver Twist by Ramps on the Moon was suspended. The Jungle Book at Derby Theatre has also been cancelled – for the time being. My local deaf club has closed its doors, leaving the older deaf community – some of them with no other access to socialising – feeling very alone.

For some of us there’s also money worries. Jobs have been cut, hours dropped and contracts lost for the self employed. For those who work with the general public, it is uncertain when they will be able to get back to work again. Even I have future jobs in the coming months that I anticipate to be cancelled. Everything’s changed.

So how to keep ourselves going and remain positive throughout what is probably the worst crisis we’ve known?

Well, we saw on the news how Italians boosted each other’s morale during times of isolation by singing in chorus on balconies. And now in Britain a new trend has started where rainbows are painted and hung in windows so that anyone can go for a walk and ‘spot the rainbows,’ thus feeling still connected with society despite social distancing.

There are also people who are volunteering to fetch food and essentials for those who are vulnerable. Adding to this there are numerous free videos coming out online to entertain old and young, to get us all exercising and focusing on something other than what’s happening in the world right now.

None of us knows when things are going to go back to ‘normal.’ But to protect each other all we can do is carry on. The official advice online for our mental health during this time is to take up a hobby. Focus on things that bring us enjoyment. Watch the news less(!) Exercise more. Get in the garden.

It’s not a time to make plans to travel but you sure can start a DIY project. We can’t get together at the local deaf pub, but we can FaceTime or video call anytime, anywhere. And if you are struggling to cope with all of this, try and reach out to somebody you trust and be reassured that you’re not alone.

Any kind of change to our lives is a stress on our body and mind and I personally felt super stressed last week when everything was coming to a head. I had jobs cancelled, other jobs to finish from home, and then I discovered I would also have to home school my children for an unknown amount of time.

Okay – breathe!

I allowed myself to feel how I was feeling – and put plans into place. As an ambitious A type person, my first thought was to get stuck into a detailed regime for the kids homeschooling, complete with lengthy BSL lessons (!) all the while juggling my own work from home. However the introvert and Mindfulness practitioner in me knew that spreading myself too thin would only lead to dangerous ground.

So I’ve become very relaxed about it all, prioritising certain things we can get done each day – to keep me sane and the children happily occupied. We’ve slowed down and I’ve scrapped all plans of following a strict routine as it just doesn’t work for us, or feel good for me.

So what I’m really saying here is that I hope you’re making choices to support you too. I hope you find things to distract you, to make you laugh. You can always check out BSL Zone and if you need a giggle I must say that Deaf Funny is a pretty good one 😉 (biased opinion!)

I hope that we can all pull together and do our best to stay home, and stay well for as long as we need to.

Have you seen any uplifting stories in the community near you? Do you know any deaf people who are spreading ripples of positivity? I’d love to read about them.

Take care all.