Lifeline Mid Coast is calling on people to seek out experiences which give them hope in a time where all facets of society have been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The service's crisis support manager Di Bannister said Lifeline had experienced an increase calls to their organisation by 25 per cent and majority of those are related to the pandemic.
"Up until probably the last month the calls were a mixed bag and related to all different situations," she said.
"The crisis supporters are now commenting that nearly every call has a COVID-19 background to it.
"Whether that's a personal experience, or a feeling about the world and also fears."
Mrs Bannister noted there's been a change in how people are mentally processing the crisis.
"It's creating more emotions, so some of those emotions are anger," she said.
"It's also creating resilience in people in looking for areas and ways to connect."
As part of Mrs Bannister's role she often visits remote communities to offer support to people in isolated locations.
A lot of those people have been through drought, floods, fires and now COVID-19.
"They've had to become more resilient and form even stronger networks because they've had to get through these times," Mrs Bannister said.
"Some people are becoming more resilient...whereas others are getting quite angry and feeling the loss of coping strategies."
Crisis support volunteers have been reporting people are feeling as though the sense of control has been lost.
Mrs Bannister has been able to build her own sense of hope through discovering resilience in remote communities.
"People who survive enormous stresses actually grow in spite of the pressures," she said.
Statistically, seven out of 10 people will survive a major disaster with minimal help.
"It's only two or three out of 10 who need therapy or some kind of ongoing support," Mrs Bannister said.
"I think that is hope."
Mrs Bannister said early intervention is paramount to recovery. She said it sometimes takes a friend, family member or work colleague to check in and a person if they are ok.
To speak to Lifeline Crisis Supporter, phone 13 11 14. This service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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