"I’m A Paramedic. I’ve Seen The Mental Health Toll This Pandemic Is Taking On Us All"

As a SHOUT volunteer and paramedic working in the ambulance service, I was asked to provide a personal account about the last year and the impact it has had in everyone's mental health. 

You can read it here.

Entrevista a Sara Almeida, por Manuel Almeida

To read in english, click here. 

Sinto que cheguei ao auge da minha carreira. Recebi um pedido muito especial, para ser entrevistada pelo meu irmão, Manu. Que orgulho! Deixo aqui o resultado da nossa conversa.

Sara Almeida é uma paramédica em Cambridge (Reino Unido).

Sara tirou o curso de design de produto, mas aos 22 anos largou o emprego que tinha na Nova Zelândia, como designer e foi para um campo de refugiados na Grécia com uma equipa médica, onde esteve a trabalhar durante 2 anos.

Enquanto Sara estava lá percebeu que era isto que queria fazer, por essa razão foi para Cambridge onde encontrou o emprego perfeito para ela (paramédica).

O tema que tivemos na nossa entrevista foi o impacto que o covid-19 teve no seu dia de trabalho.

Como acha que os hospitais estão a lidar com a situação do covid-19?

Tem sido difícil lidar com a quantidade de pacientes que precisam de ser atendidos no hospital. Um dos maiores problemas é o número de trabalhadores infetados com o covid-19, o que reduz a capacidade do hospital e aumenta o tempo de espera. Todos os profissionais de saúde estão a dar o seu melhor para poder atender os pacientes que precisam deles.

De que maneira pensa que o covid-19 está a afetar os profissionais de saúde?

Tanto eu como os meus colegas sentimos o cansaço acumulado do último ano. É difícil para nós ver os pacientes sofrer pela demora no tempo de atendimento e estarem afastados dos seus familiares numa altura em que precisam tanto deles. Sinto que estamos todos a precisar de uma grande festa para recarregar baterias (risos). 

Acha que as regras impostas pelo governo são suficientes para manter as pessoas seguras nos espaços públicos?

O governo recomenda que pratique o distanciamento social, uso de máscaras e a higiene das mãos. Se todos seguíssemos essas regras acredito que conseguíssemos reduzir o número de casos. A única maneira 100% efetiva de parar a transmissão do covid-19 é o isolamento total. No entanto, a longo prazo, o efeito que teria na economia e saúde mental seria desastroso.

Que cuidados tem depois do trabalho para prevenir levar o vírus consigo?

Quando acabo o meu turno ponho o meu uniforme num saco de pano que levo para casa e ponho na máquina de lavar assim que chego. Tenho cuidado para lavar as mãos e a cara regularmente, mas entendo que existe sempre a possibilidade de transportar o mesmo sem saber. 

Entrevista, redação e edição por Manuel Almeida 28/12/2020

The local newspaper

Ricky Gervais says everyone should have the privilege of being featured in their local newspaper. 

This week, it was my turn. 

Here in English. Aqui em Português. 

All the good stuff...

... to get you through isolation.

This is a compilation of all the resources, ideas and activities that have been suggested in the Whatsapp group "All the good stuff", to help you live (and thrive) over the next few weeks.

Post suggestions and feel free to add yourself to the group here.

There's plenty of good stuff around. This is my street.

MUSIC

1. Easy Breezy Playlist - Created by DEV The DEV DEV, 5 hours of the calmest and most beautiful songs. It will take you back to the 80s and 90s
2. Chris Martin mini concert - as Coldplay members are all in different countries, Chris decided to do a mini concert by himself. #TogetherAtHome  , hopefully it takes off and we have many more of these.

ACTIVITIES

1. 101 Grounding Techniques - Beautifully compiled & creative.  Some of them can even work as games with young children. It should get you going for a few hours. 
2. Sourdough starter - I mean... who hasn't thought about starting their own Sourdough Starter? It takes a week for it to be at the stage where you can cook your first loaf so it's no wonder you haven't committed to this yet. However... now that you're stuck at home for 2 weeks (best case scenario), I think it's time. This is the recipe I use to make crusty beautiful loafs. 
3. Do some volunteer work from the comfort of your home! I volunteer for a crisis text line and it will come as no surprise to you that over the last few weeks the number of people reaching out to us has grown. We are recruiting volunteers and this seems like the perfect opportunity to go through the online training. What do you think? Have a look here.
4. Headspace is an app that guides you through a different meditation each day. They now have a dedicated zone with resources to get you through these weird times. (suggested by Jade, England)
5. Dancing Alone Together - Live stream of dance classes, all free. There's ballet, tap, contemporary. Put on your dancing shoes and take it away in the living room! (suggested by Jo, England)
6. Yoga Classes - Brilliant app that guides you through a Yoga class to your own pace. Fully customisable: you can select experience, pace, length. It even has different music you can pick from. It's usually paid but they are making it free for the next few weeks. Enjoy! (suggested by Vivienne, England)
7. HIIT Classes - From the same developers as the yoga app, this is another brilliant workout app. The videos are clear, you can pick the duration of the workout and the muscles you want to focus on. Completely free. 
8. Kayla Itsines Workouts - Workout app that has all workouts home based, they offer a 7 day trial. 
9. Duolingo - How cool would it be to say you learned a new language with all the free time you had at home during this weird time? What a great way to keep your brain engaged and challenged! Duolingo makes it accessible for everyone to learn a language from scratch. Give it a go. Boa sorte!  







my first attempt at sourdough!!

TV SERIES / FILMS

1. Studio Ghibli movies on Netflix - Read the full list of available films and when more will be available. Cosy up on the sofa with a hot drink and enjoy these anime films. (suggested by Agnes, England) 
2. Inside no 9 -  Anthology series which mixes dark humour with genres like crime, horror or drama. The show invites viewers into some very different No.9s, where the ordinary and mundane rub shoulders with the extraordinary and macabre.

VIRTUAL EVENTS (all in UK time)

1. Friday 20th March, 8pm to midnight The Piano Works (music) - Join The Piano Works on tour from wherever you are, bringing much needed good vibes and joy to your weekend! Tune in via the Piano Works Farringdon Facebook page from 8pm to midnight to enjoy non-stop live music. Dance like nobody’s watching and request your favourite songs via Facebook for the band to perform! 100 % of all donations will go to our musicians
2. Saturday 21st March, 7-10pm B-Sydes / Naomi Randall / Old Man Boom (music) - The Blue Moon (Pub in Cambridge) is doing a live stream concert so you can all join in from your living room. They are even doing takeaway beer! You can watch the band with a pint in hand from the comfort of your home.  
3. Ongoing Frida Kahlo Exhibition - For those who are at home and missing going to the museum, Google has made available an exhibition by Frida Kahlo, online. (suggested by Paula, Portugal)
4. 17th to 22nd March, in the evenings Many Portuguese artists are doing live acts from their own homes. There's many concerts every evening. To join just follow this link. (suggested by Marta, Portugal)

PODCASTS

1.  The Open Ears Project - Gem of a podcast where famous people/somewhat-famous people/normal people talk about their favourite piece of classical music...episodes usually 5-15 minutes long and very good for breaks from the news. (suggested by Naomi, USA)
2. The Guilty Feminist - is most often recorded live shows where Deborah interviews inspiring women, chats about worthy causes, and also has funny comedians! She’s also a amnesty ambassador. (suggested by Sarah, NZ)
3. My Dad Wrote a Porno - Imagine if your Dad wrote a dirty book. Most people would try to ignore it and pretend it had never happened - but not Jamie Morton. Instead, he's decided to read it to the world in this podcast. (suggested by Jade, England)
4. No Such Thing As a Fish - A podcast from the elfs that research facts for the show QI, where they discuss the best bits of information they found this week. (suggested by Hilary, England)
5. Terrible, thanks for asking -  "Hosted by author and notable widow (her words) Nora McInerny, this is a funny/sad/uncomfortable podcast about talking honestly about our pain, our awkwardness, and our humanness, which is not an actual word." (suggested by Naomi, USA)

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT 

1. If you're looking for crisis support feel free to text the crisis line or even pass on the details to someone that needs it. Text SHOUT to 85258 and you'll be connected to a crisis volunteer that is trained to help you reach a safe mental space. 

(Post being continuously updated)

One year on. 

It took one year for me to feel like I could do this job and actually be a little bit good at it. 

I find myself conforting patients, making decisions and wonder ‘where has this come from?’.

Today I felt a little proud of how far I’ve come. 

If nothing else, this. This matters. This is enough. 

2018 has been... beautiful.

It's such a cliché to look back on the past year when December hits you in the face. 

Again, I've been meaning to reflect on all the amazing things that have happened in my life recently but struggle with finding the right words, moment, way to do it. 

Then something unbelievably amazing happens and you realise you want to treasure all the wonderful feelings of that moment. 

I delivered a baby. An actual real-life, crying-out-loud, tiny-fingers-and-even-smaller-nails, perfect little girl. As dad opened the door for me and my crewmate to walk in he breathes with relief and says "I'm glad you're here. I have no idea what I'm doing!" and I feel like saying "me neither!" but hold it inside me until an hour after when mum, dad and baby are all cuddled together and laughing out loud at the situation. It was wonderful. I'm still glowing from it and riding the beautiful feeling. 

I wan to write about all the amazing people I've come to meet and had the honour of looking after but patient confidentiality and respect for their personal stories stops me from doing so. I'll jot some notes down in hopes that they will lift my spirits on days the radio goes off at 4am, after you've already had a really full on  night and you really just needed a rest. You wonder why you do this job when you'd rather be at home in your bed. But then you look at the screen and see you're going to a birth an you remember why you do the job. Ah, not always, but today that's what it was like. :) 

ps: they're thinking of naming her after me. eeeeeecckkkk

New, News, All New.

I keep waiting for the right moment to make this post. I think my whole life I struggle with that: the right moment. 

I'm in a home that is not mine (but feels a little bit mine), studying for an exam I didn't expect to be taking anytime during my life, in order to start a job I could only dream off in the last few years, so I can move in with my best friend to a place we will finally be able to call home. 

Life works in funny ways. I wish I could encapsulate all the feelings and thoughts that are going through me at the moment. There's the nerves taking over my whole body, the excitement about new adventures, the fear of not being able to rise up to the challenge, the desire to curl up in bed with a book and live the simple life, the sadness for the heartbreak and realising I went from being in a team to be a solo player. The happiness for being able to read a good book, walk along the river, have a pint in the sunshine. The kind of happiness you only feel when you're truly free, like I know I am. The 3am cycles home after a good laughing session with friends, the 4am ukulele playing sessions, the 5am staring at the ceiling sessions wondering about the size of the world. 

How blessed that I get to live this life.