We wanna welcome all of you to this podcast.
We, are titling this COVID nineteen and beyond.
We're here to help if we can through this crisis and through this struggle, of the pandemic.
This is a joint effort between Divine Mercy University and its Center for Trauma and Resiliency Studies, which is a Green Cross Academy training site.
Let me turn you over to our president, Doctor.
Charles Sikorsky.
Thank you, doctor Keyes.
And I just wanna welcome everyone to this webinar.
Like everyone else, you know, it's a really it's a time right now that is full of so much uncertainty, so much, so much suffering and pain.
So many people have loved ones or friends who've, fallen ill with the coronavirus.
There's been as a growing number of death, deaths each day.
We also have the financial implications of all this with so many people now unemployed.
Every week, millions and millions more hit the unemployment rolls, and such a time of great uncertainty and a time of great anxiety.
And what we wanna we hope to be able to do is to give people some hope, some tools, and how to navigate this both on a human level and also on a spiritual level.
And I was looking through some verses in in in the Bible that could be helpful to us.
And I noticed that, you know, Christ always accompanies us.
And And in so many ways, it's not just on a spiritual level, but there's great, I think, human insight into what he says in the gospel, some of the writings of Saint Paul, I wanted to talk about briefly just to kinda put this in context.
First in the the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter six, toward the end, Christ talks about dependence on God.
He mentions how in times of anxiety that we really need to put our our hopes in him, put our trust in him, put our put our hands put our lives into his hands.
He speaks of how the birds near, don't sow or reap, but yet our heavenly father feeds them.
Talks about the field, the flowers in the field, how how God makes them beautiful, without any any action on their own.
And then he remembers at the end, he says that we should not worry about tomorrow.
Tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for its day is its own evil.
And I was focusing on the on the present moment, and one day at a time, one step at a time.
I think that's not only good, psychological advice, but I think also it's great spiritual advice.
Right?
So many times we we're concerned and we worry about things that end up not happening, or if they do happen, they tend not to be as bad as we imagine they could be.
Right?
So, just remembering that living today, living today, living the moment, knowing that God loves you, knowing that God cares about you.
His son is Christians.
We know that our Lord Jesus Christ is with us every step of the way.
Just keeping that in mind as we all try to navigate this uncharted, territory that the coronavirus has put put on all of our plates.
And there's a second thing I would suggest is, you know, Saint Paul talks about being positive.
In the fourth chapter of Philippi letter to the Philippians, first, he talks about, anxiety and what how we should handle that in prayer.
And he mentions that we should put, in verse, four, or I'm sorry, verse six.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your request known to God.
So it's not unnatural for people of faith to be anxious.
Okay?
That's okay.
But it's what we do with that anxiety and how we handle that.
And we're putting our our our requests in God's hand, and then and then seeing the positive.
He goes on in in verse eight, which has been quoted so often.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, lovely, gracious, if there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
And I think we need to, to think about that during these days.
There's so much negative news.
There's so much fearful news.
We just are barraged by it.
But there's also good things going on, and try to look for those good things, one day at a time, and look for the positive side of things.
And I think that can be very helpful for us to help us to cope and to move forward.
So, I'm very grateful to Doctor.
Keyes, Doctor.
Wines, and Doctor.
Erwin to be here with them today.
It's a privilege for me to be with them and thank them for their time, And I really look forward to hearing from them and their insights into this issue.
And so I think Doctor.
Wines will be taking over now, and welcome, Mallory.
Thank you so much father Charles.
So hello everybody, my name is Doctor.
Mallory Wines and I'm an assistant professor for the school of counseling here at Divine Mercy University.
Today, I'm just going to be going over some information, probably a lot that you have heard by now.
I'm just going to talk a little bit about what is a pandemic and what are the orders in place for Virginia and for the other states that you reside in.
What are we being asked to do?
We will cover that a little bit today, and I will provide just a brief discussion on some of the suggestions when we are sheltering in place, and then my colleagues will further guide that discussion next.
A lot of the information that I'm going to be going over has been retrieved from the CDC, so the Center for Disease Control, VOAD, the voluntary organizations active in disaster, and the WHO, the World Health Organization.
So let's start with just going over the definition of what is a pandemic.
And we know that the term pandemic is really defined as this global epidemic.
This means that this is an epidemic that spreads to more than one continent.
There's really two features that are, part of an influenza pandemic.
And this is one that the virus is a new strain something that's not previously infected people before And two that like I said, it's on this global scale The term pandemic doesn't necessarily mean the severity of the disease But it's more about geography in which the disease spreads globally and infects a large number of people If you were to look this up online historically speaking The word pandemic, you will find that influenza pandemics have really struck about three times every century since the 1500s So the last time a pandemic was declared was actually just eleven years ago in June 2009 when the world health organization declared h1 n1 swine the swine flu pandemic as you probably all remember The corona disease coronavirus disease 2019 or covid nineteen as we all know it was really identified in late two thousand nineteen and was then declared a pandemic on March 11.
There's been cases detected in most countries worldwide, and this is a new disease that's not previously been seen in humans.
I'm sure a lot of us are checking the news daily and seeing how rapidly the numbers are changing.
At this time, as of actually last night, the numbers of individuals being diagnosed with COVID nineteen, was four hundred and twenty seven over four hundred and twenty seven thousand cases in The United States Today that number will change I want to talk a little bit about just virginia's orders as this is the home of Divine Mercy University, and then we'll talk a little bit about the state differences.
So governor Ralph Northam really ordered the statewide closure of certain nonessential businesses and k 12 schools, which went into effect on March 24.
As of now, it's going to remain in effect until April 23.
That could possibly change, as you know.
So this really means all gatherings of more than 10 people, closure of certain nonessential businesses, and all k through 12 schools for the remainder of the academic year.
Governor Northam is also urging all Virginians to avoid nonessential travel outside of the home if and when possible.
As many of you are probably doing, we are being encouraged to do telework.
So telework is working from home.
And when this is not possible, businesses are asked to really adhere to the social distancing recommendations and enhanced sanitizing procedures.
Additionally, telemedicine, so this is our medical professionals, our mental health professionals and beyond are are being encouraged to use, telemedicine whenever possible just to prevent that direct exposure through the health care systems.
We know other states are different.
So at this time, COVID nineteen is very Fluid.
It's very fast changing at all levels of government There are new orders new regulations new restrictions and guidance being issued by federal state and local governments on a daily basis Additionally, not only are those changes happening, but there are different varying definitions of what it means to shelter in place or stay at home orders, and and also different definitions for essential businesses and employees for state to state.
I just encourage you to consult with your health department, the CDC, and your state to know, what is being recommended.
And, again, knowing that that could be changing very fluid.
I just wanna talk a little bit about how COVID-nineteen is spreading and I know everybody is probably pretty aware of this, but at this time, there is no vaccine to prevent COVID-nineteen.
We know the best possible way to prevent the illness is really just avoid being exposed to the virus.
We know the exposed to the virus.
We know the the virus is thought to spread mainly from person to person in close contact within six feet of one another through respiratory droplets with an infected person who may cough or sneeze or talk and then can land into the the mouths and the noses of another person nearby.
Some recent studies are showing or suggesting that COVID nineteen might be spread, by people who are not showing symptoms.
So some researchers, if you look this up, are are saying that possibly twenty five percent to fifty percent of people with COVID nineteen are unaware that they have the virus and are carriers without having any symptoms.
And, additionally, it it appears that we could be shedding the virus up to forty eight hours before any symptoms are shown for those who do show symptoms later on or do, have a positive diagnosis of COVID.
So many people are are asking, you know, should I be tested?
If I have symptoms, where do I go?
So I just wanna briefly talk a little bit about that.
So according to the CDC, reported illnesses are ranging from very mild symptoms to, obviously, severe illness and possible hospitalization, or death.
So symptoms may appear two days to fourteen days after exposure.
Everybody, if you look this up, all the researchers, all the medical professionals are saying that not everyone needs to necessarily be tested for COVID nineteen and that most people will experience mild illnesses and able to thankfully recover within their homes.
There's no specific treatment especially approved for this virus, but as we all know, this is being researched and this is being studied at this time.
However, testing results might be helpful to really inform us whether we have a diagnosis and who we should not come in contact with or if we need to be quarantined at home.
There are a lot of laboratory tests that can really identify this virus that causes COVID-nineteen and respiratory, specimens.
And our state and public health departments have received quite a bit of tests from the CDC, while a lot of our medical professionals are receiving these by commercial manufacturers.
If you do believe that you might have symptoms of COVID nineteen and want to get treated, you are being encouraged to at least contact your primary care physician, medical provider, or state or local health department.
Although supplies of tests seem to be increasing, it still might be difficult in your area to find a place to get tested.
And as all have probably heard, it's recommended to seek immediate attention if you're experiencing warning signs such as difficulty or trouble breathing, having a persistent cough or pressure in your chest, or if you're experiencing any kind of confusion, bluish lips, face, you know, those those symptoms that feel very immediate and very severe.
So what do we do?
How do we keep ourselves safe physically, and just emotionally and mentally?
So we're going to talk a little bit about that.
As you've probably heard, we are being asked to wash our hands very often.
Soap and water for at least twenty seconds, especially if you've been out or in a public place after blowing your nose, coughing, sneezing.
If you don't have access to soap and water, using hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, avoid touching your face, your eyes, your nose, your mouth, and, of course, avoiding con close contact with people who are sick, whether they've been diagnosed with COVID or not.
When you are out and about for those times that you do need to, whether you're an essential worker or you're just picking up your groceries, we're definitely being encouraged to distance ourselves from others for within at least six feet.
The the, recommendations have changed a little bit.
So now we are being encouraged to cover our mouth and our nose, our face with a with a cloth face cover when we're around other people.
There are quite a few videos out there if you don't have any masks at home that you can create your own mask, with material or handkerchiefs.
And we know we're being asked to do that just because we could possibly spread COVID even if you don't feel sick.
And really the cloth face, the purpose of that is to to protect other people in case we might be infected.
Couple other recommendations that we're all being asked to do is just cleaning and disinfecting.
So there's frequently touched surfaces, within our homes, light switches, countertops, handles, covering our coughs and sneezes, especially if you don't have your cloth face covering, and to really thoroughly disinfect whether you're in a workplace or within your home using solutions with at least 70% alcohol.
Let's shift gears a little bit of talking about what can we do when we are sheltering in place.
And I just encourage everybody to check out a couple of websites that I'll mention from here on out.
First, I was looking over the American Counseling Association website, which has a lot of great resources on there.
We know that everybody reacts to stressful situations quite differently, and you probably are familiar with that if you've just had conversations with friends and family members.
COVID nineteen is creating high stress levels for for many of us, anxiety, fear.
We're finding that those who respond with more more, significant stress or anxiety could possibly be older people or people with chronic illnesses who are at higher risk of developing COVID nineteen.
Some individuals, just children and teens, so being able to have those conversations with them and provide support to them.
Healthcare providers, those who are on the front lines are healthcare professionals, are first responders, anybody who might be providing response to COVID nineteen.
And then I also think about just those who have any type of mental health considerations, and those include individuals with substance use.
Individuals with significant mental health issues, might be having challenges that make it just even more difficult for them to to cope and to manage their stress and anxiety, whether that's just accessibility to food or shelter or medications.
And we know that this can be increasing the risk of of stress, of fear, and anxiety.
So we know coping and managing our own stress is really important for us all, yet can be difficult and challenging when we are in the middle of a pandemic.
Oftentimes our anxiety and our worry is really about our own health status and our loved ones and our friends and family's health status.
I think we're also concerned of, you know, what if I have this and I'm around other people that I really care about?
Am I going to expose expose others to the disease?
And then we have the worries of financial.
If I'm taking time off of work, if I'm losing income, job security, you know, how will I get things that I need?
So it's really important for us to be self aware and to really pay attention to those high stress levels within ourselves, being able to reduce them as much as possible.
If you are a responder and any type of responder, like I was mentioning, a medical professional, first responder, a mental health professional, you might be, experiencing what we call secondary traumatic stress.
And this is really just that stress reaction or experience of symptoms which are are being resulted from the exposure to another individual's traumatic experience, rather than necessarily the direct traumatic experience within yourself.
And we also call this vicarious trauma.
So I just wanna mention a few ways in which we can work to reduce traumatic stress and my colleagues will introduce additional techniques and managing and coping with stress that you might be experiencing.
The first is just learning about the symptoms and being self aware.
You know, what what am I going through?
What am I experiencing?
Whether that's fear or guilt or fatigue.
Allowing yourself and your family, time to recover from responding to the pandemic.
So hopefully soon when this is all over, being able to give yourself some time to to just recover from what's been going on with with all of us.
Some self care activities, and we know that is individually defined, but being able to take care of ourselves, do things that we enjoy or that we might find relaxing.
I think we are all working to be well informed of what's going on, which means watching the media, turning on the local news.
But it's it's good sometimes to take a break from that and be able to say, okay, I'm gonna turn this off for now and and take some time away from, you know, the the constant coverage that we're experiencing.
And being able to ask for help.
So if you notice, you know, my symptoms are really starting to affect my ability to care for myself, to be able to care for my family, or even your patients if you are a responder in any type of way.
It's important that we say, okay.
Maybe I need additional additional help that I wasn't wasn't expecting.
If you are a responder, you might also find it helpful to just stay physically and mentally healthy.
Responder or not, it's important to be able to have, you know, well balanced meals, making sure that we're getting enough sleep, rest, exercise, making time to relax, and like I had mentioned, enjoying activities even if that's within your home or with your family.
One of the recommendations that you might see quite a bit is maintaining that, routine or a schedule for yourself.
Right now, many of us are in a state of transition, you know, maybe we're not going to work, we've lost that routine and that typical schedule that we have every day.
So if you normally wake up and you shower and you get ready for the day and go to work, maybe that will help me to do that, even a few days a week.
Another recommendation is just staying connected with other people.
We don't necessarily have the the option of physically being face to face with individuals that we care about and that we love, but being able to just connect with them, whether that's on the phone, social media, there's tons of apps out there now to be able to to stay connected with each other.
And we can find that just being there for our friends and our family really helps us too and makes us feel good and makes us feel useful and that we have some purpose to be able to provide support in a way that, you know, we can express our love and express our care for for other people and for our loved ones.
Some of the additional challenges that we are facing and, whether that's at home or you're you're working in an essential business, is just being able to manage that stress and being in that workspace and being able to protect yourself while you are in that workspace.
If you're at home, being able to find the space, you know, there's a lot of families out there who are working from home, trying to take care of their children at the same time.
And these challenges can really create a lot of additional stressors, for one time management, you know, how do I manage my time at work, get everything that I need done while also being able to care for my family?
Especially if you have children at home, children are out of school at this time.
So we're encouraged to set a schedule, you know, a daily schedule for us to say, these are the hours that I'm going to dedicate to work And being able to establish boundaries, that's a really important one.
Boundaries can be difficult when we're at home and trying to navigate this new routine.
So separating our work time from our personal time might be really important for you.
Even just carving out that dedicated workspace, this will be my office whether I have an office or not, this is where I'm going to be able to do my work every day and dedicate that time to to my work.
And then just coordinating schedules with other family members who might be in the home, who's caring for the kids at this time, who's making dinner tonight, just those small small conversations and small tasks might be really helpful for you.
And hopefully by doing this, this will be able to reduce some of the stress that you might be experiencing, while while we are all within our homes.
Another question that seems to pop up is how do we help our community?
You You know, many of us wanna know what can we do what can we do to help while being, social distancing, being in our homes.
And again, I just want you to check out the national VOAD website.
It has a lot of great resources on what we can do to help or volunteer.
First is, like I was mentioning, just checking in, you know, checking in with our loved ones, our family, our friends, our neighbors.
And this can be done through telephone, emails, messages, social media, like I was mentioning all the great apps that are out there.
We want might want to be helpful in being able to get groceries for them if we if we are able.
Help them monitor their their medical supplies or know what medications that they're taking and offer to pick those up for them if we are able to.
Face masks.
So if you have seen, there's a lot of individuals, making face masks masks that are appropriate for our medical professionals or now just all of us in the community who are being asked to to wear them out in public.
And there's a form on the Virginia actually, the Virginia VOAD website that if you want to volunteer to make them, you can fill out this form and be a part of that.
Another, just donating blood, and this can be done through the American Red Cross.
So if you're able to do that, I just encourage you to to check out the American Red Cross, see where locally you're able to donate blood.
And then the last recommendation would just be assist in packaging or distribution of food for our local food banks.
As you've probably seen on the news, they are really providing a lot of food to our communities, our schools are providing a lot of food to children and the students, so I just encourage you to check that out if you're interested.
And I just wanna end with a quote, kind of a theme for the presentation is just calm presence in the midst of chaos.
And we know that if we can model that and be that for our friends, for our family, for our loved ones, that that will ultimately help us in being able to manage our stress and and deal with the anxiety that we might be all experiencing through this.
So, I just wanna say thank you all and stay safe and stay healthy.
And now I'm going to pass this to my colleagues.
If you're watching from home, this completes part one of COVID nineteen and beyond.
Please stay with us for part two where we're gonna look at more ideas for home and ways of relaxing and, relieving the stress that may be involved in in coping with the current pandemic.
Thank you for joining us.
Us.