Lifeline Canberra has received the largest call demand in its 50-year history this week from Canberrans feeling stressed and anxious during lockdown – 150 more calls than previous records – and CEO Carrie Leeson predicts almost 3,500 callers in the next couple of days as more people reach out.

“We’re doing what we can; we’re responding to as many calls as we can. We can get to everyone, but the wait times are blowing out a little bit,” Ms Leeson said.

To help Canberrans through this time, Lifeline is holding free online courses on self-compassion and self-reflection. The first was held yesterday and attracted more than 400 participants – one of the largest online training sessions ever held by Lifeline Canberra. More webinars will be held Tuesday and Friday next week. Numbers are unlimited, but participants are asked to register by the morning of the day before.

The number of callers to the crisis support line may have increased, but Lifeline Canberra has prepared for this eventuality for the past year, Ms Leeson said. They built a new phone room last year, and the ACT Lifeline Centre is now the largest in the country.

Hundreds of crisis support workers are on the phones, and another cohort starts training next week; 80 more trained volunteers will hit the phones by December.

“We’re firing on all fronts in terms of our service delivery,” Ms Leeson said.  If we were answering this number of calls last year, we would be hitting 100% of our calls.”

Lifeline is at capacity because of restrictions in the crisis support centre. Social distancing measures mean they can’t put more people on, and some of the telephone crisis supporters are physically or emotionally vulnerable, or have had to pull out because they are secondary or close contacts.

“We’re shuffling the chairs around and keeping going,” Ms Leeson said. “But for the most part, it’s really working quite well.

“It’s just that demand is outstripping the supply; every day we think we’ve got the silver bullet, something happens in our community and the crisis sparks.”

How can you look after your mental health?

Everyone is experiencing an overlay of anxiety, uncertainty, and stress, but there are proven techniques to manage these, Ms Leeson said.

“This may well be the worst thing that has ever happened to some people,” Ms Leeson said. Others, she notes, are thriving right now, modelling enormous mental and emotional resilience.

“Fortunately or unfortunately, we’re all going through it together. While we’re all in the same crisis, we’re all interacting and experiencing it individually. The solution for each of us is really quite unique, and requires us to do some work.”

Set boundaries around information and media. Make sure you’re getting reputable sources of information. Put time limits on how long you spend searching for information.

To stabilise your emotional wellbeing, make sure you’re socially connected. Take the time to exercise; eat healthily. Discipline your thoughts. “Thinking drives your feelings drives your behaviours. Choose your behaviour to be kind, thoughtful, and necessary.”

In some respects, lockdown is an opportunity for introspection. Take some quiet time and decide what you need.

“Some people don’t know what makes them feel better, so they sit with the anxiety and fear, because they haven’t reflected, or they can’t exercise self-compassion and self-awareness to know what causes their distress.”

Self-awareness and self-compassion, Ms Leeson explains, are vital skills – “Not just for the pandemic, but for everything that life throws at you.”

Lockdown might be tough, but the ACT Government has the situation under control; one of the best things the public can do is to follow instructions. “It’s one thing we can control. Do the right thing, and we’ll be out of this lockdown as soon as we possibly can be. Co-operate, and we’ll all get through this.”

Lifeline Canberra are also encouraging those who are struggling to reach out to Lifeline on the 13 11 14 number.

Lifeline Canberra fundraising efforts

The next Lifeline Canberra Bookfair, which was scheduled for 3-5 September, is on hold due to COVID-19 restrictions. Bookfair events are a major fundraiser for Lifeline Canberra.

One major fundraiser which is able to continue during lockdown is the car raffle, a Volkswagen T-Roc donated by John McNickle and supplied by Lennock Volkswagen. Tickets are $20 each and available online here. All proceeds go directly to Lifeline Canberra.

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