Feeling safe this Christmas season – December 2020

NAPAC’s Christmas arrangements

NAPAC will close in the period between Christmas and New Year. The support line will close at 3.00pm on Christmas Eve and will reopen again at 10.00am on Monday 4 January 2021.

The London office will close at 12.00pm on Christmas Eve and reopen as normal on Monday 4 January 2021.

NAPAC’s own online resources will remain freely available, and below we have collated mental health and wellbeing resources from other trusted sources.

 

Mental health and wellbeing

Some people may be experiencing serious worries for the first time. For others, the pandemic has made existing mental health issues worse.

The Better Health website has NHS-endorsed expert advice and practical tips, to help you keep on top of your wellbeing and to cope with how you may be feeling. You can read more about the Every Mind Matters campaign which aims to help us all with our mental health.

Support services will be available nationwide during the holiday season. For advice on mental health, visit Mind, Mind’s peer support directory for other local services and the Samaritans.

To search local services, visit the NHS mental health support services and support services for young people. Healthwatch also has a postcode finder tool for local services.

 

Tier 4 and changes to Christmas arrangements

On Sunday 20 December, parts of London, the South East and the East of England, which were previously in Tier 3, entered a new Tier 4. The Prime Minister announced new restrictions and changes to the plans for Christmas. These restrictions started on Sunday 20 December. You are allowed to meet with your support bubble.

The government has also shared new guidance for the Christmas period and has called for celebrations to be kept small, short and local. You can find the full Christmas guidance and Winter holiday advice on gov.uk.

There are also updated guidelines for New Year’s celebrations.

 

Changes to local tiers – official links for ongoing updates

There are regular updates to COVID-19 local restriction tiers, but the toughest measures only apply in areas where the virus is most prevalent. You can find out more about your local tier using the guidance on local tiers and restrictions and the local tiers postcode tracker.

 

 

 

Below are the previous updates

 

Introduction of local alert levels – from 14 October 2020

The Government introduced local alert levels on Wednesday 14 October to tailor how risks are managed across the country.

The core advice remains the same – follow social distancing guidelines, keep washing your hand regularly, and wear a face mask or covering in enclosed spaces and on public transport.

The best place to find out more is the Government’s coronavirus guidance pages, which has a postcode checker to find the current alert level of any area.

NAPAC’s support services – an essential service – will continue to be available. We have robust measures in place to make sure our staff and volunteers can work safely at all alert levels.

Government coronavirus guidance homepage

 

Are you concerned about wearing a mask?

We know some survivors are finding covering their own face or seeing the faces of others covered to be a triggering experience. The Survivors Trust has written a great article with useful resources, reflecting the latest guidance from the Government and including different face coverings and appropriate exception cards.

The Survivors Trust guide to Covid-19 face coverings

 

Safer travel guidance for passengers – from 15 June 2020

It is now the law that you must wear a face covering when travelling in England on public transport, including on buses and trains. A face covering is a covering of any type which covers your nose and mouth. This is a new law, and is in addition to the recommendations on social distancing and frequent hand washing.

Information about the new law is available online from GOV.UK, Guidance (Covid-19): safe travel guidance for passengers

There is also official Government guidance on how to wear and make a cloth face mask covering

 

The lockdown is more challenging for many survivors for a number of reasons:

– Anxiety, depression, feelings of panic or dissociation or other health impacts of trauma may become worse if you live alone

– Social distancing has cut people off from their support networks of friends or family or healthy coping routines such as activities and sport

– Being trapped at home may remind people of being trapped in an unsafe environment as a child and traumatic memories may surface

– People may not able to access their usual face-to-face support with a therapist or counsellor or support group

– People who live in busy homes with family members may find it harder to access support such as NAPAC’s telephone support line or online sessions with counsellors or therapists due to lack of privacy

– For those survivors still living with abusive family members, it may be impossible to access support of any kind during the lockdown

– Many of the people who are most vulnerable during this lockdown such as homeless people, prisoners, people with mental health or learning difficulties and people on low incomes are disproportionally likely to be survivors of childhood trauma

– The vast majority of survivors of abuse were controlled by people who claimed to care for them, so the lockdown will trigger inherent mistrust and make it much harder for survivors to comply with the order

– Frontline workers who are survivors who are compelled to work in conditions where they feel unsafe, this may also feel triggering. and they may be more likely to suffer vicarious trauma and / or PTSD

– Wearing and seeing others wearing face masks can be difficult and stressful, especially if your mouth or face has been covered by an abuser

– The additional police and security around can be triggering, heightening anxiety, especially as we understand it is difficult to know the right thing to do in different situations

 

Anxiety

The NHS Every Mind Matters campaign has tips on looking after yourself when you are cocooning at home to keep yourself and others safe. NHS Every Mind Matters Coronavirus (COVID-19) Staying at Home Tips

 

Feeling stressed?

You may realise right away when you’re feeling under stress, but at other times you may not recognise the signs. Stress can affect you both emotionally and physically, and it can affect the way you behave. It may help to identify these feelings and know that they are normal  Mind charity’s Signs of Stress information page.

 

Feeling triggered?

Many people calling our support line are suffering from flashbacks, dissociation and poor sleep. Much of the popular understanding of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) comes as a result of media depictions, which show visual flashbacks and hallucinations of the incident. Researcher Claire Cunnington at the University of Sheffield has written a guest blog on complex PTSD and childhood trauma Claire Cunnington on complex PTSD and child sexual abuse

 

What is trauma?

Childhood abuse and neglect or repeatedly witnessing domestic violence are traumatic experiences for a child. They threaten our sense of physical or emotional safety or even our life and overwhelm our nervous system. The effects of the trauma are deepened if it’s not possible to escape the threat, which is naturally the case for children. Find out more on our FAQs page ‘What is Abuse and what is trauma?’ Common Concerns

It can be extremely empowering and healing to recognise that many of your overwhelming feelings are linked to chronic traumatic experiences in childhood rather than innate ‘defects’ or ‘disorders’Read more about Trauma-informed Practice and why it matters

There are some common responses and experiences among abuse and other trauma survivors as a result of the current lockdown. This Psych Central blog gives an overview and offers suggestions on how we can take charge of our wellbeing. How the coronavirus pandemic is affecting trauma survivors

 

Dissociation

Dissociation is one way the mind copes with too much stress, such as during a traumatic event like abuse in childhood. If this is the way you coped with trauma in the past, you may dissociate now at times of stress. Experiences of dissociation can last for a relatively short time (hours or days) or for much longer (weeks or months). Read Mind’s information page on dissociation and dissociative disorders and tips on caring for yourself Mind on Dissociation

 

Overwhelming feelings and memories

If you suffered trauma in the past, stress can trigger a flashback. When memories come back, the child part in you is experiencing the past as if it were happening today. The extreme feelings and bodily sensations are so frightening because they are not related to the present and often seem to come out of the blue.

Grounding techniques can help you feel more in control. They’re especially useful if you experience dissociation during panic attacks.  If you feel panicky, trapped or powerless as a result of a flashback, read or listen to our grounding techniques. NAPAC’s Flashbacks and Grounding tips in audio and to read

Traumatic events can cause complex PTSD. If you have complex PTSD you may be particularly likely to experience what some people call an ’emotional flashback’, in which you have intense feelings that you originally felt during the trauma, such as fear, shame, sadness or despair. You might react to events in the present as if they are causing these feelings, without realising that you are having a flashback. Read Mind Charity’s page on Complex PTSD

 

How to reduce self-harming behaviours

Self-harm for some people reduces the impact of overwhelming feelings for a short time. It is often triggered by stress, a reminder of a painful experience, or by flashbacks. What can you do to stop? We offer some tools to help you. NAPAC’s Common Concerns page

 

Reliable sources of information

Coping during the pandemic This free course has been developed by The Recovery College and NHS for everyone in response to the recent global pandemic. It will be regularly updated with the latest information and advice. Click here to take the course The Recovery College coronavirus page 

There is information about how to:

  • avoid catching and spreading the virus
  • what immediate feelings you may have and
  • common reactions, managing your mental health at this time
  • managing isolation and social distancing,
  • self-care
  • supporting children and young people
  • accessible information.

What is a Recovery College? Recovery Colleges co-produce mental health and wellbeing training courses in partnership with the NHS. There are a number of Recovery Colleges running across the country. They offer educational courses about mental health and recovery which are designed to increase your knowledge and skills and to help you to feel more confident in self-management of your own mental health and well-being.

For the latest government information about health, employment, education, travel and business information, check here, content is updated frequently Government sources of up-to-date information on coronavirus (COVID-19)

 

IICSA and the Truth Project

An update from IICSA and the Truth Project: whilst private sessions in person are not possible currently, survivors of child sexual abuse can still share their experiences privately by telephone and in writing. Full details are on their website https://www.truthproject.org.uk/share-your-experience

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