Dear Parents and Carers of Good Samaritan,

Recently, a Mama Mia post was shared with me that spoke about why many of us don’t quite feel ourselves at the moment.  We may be feeling a ‘little over it’ as the restrictions don’t seem to be easing, we are being asked to do things we’ve never had to do before like wear masks or stay away from loved ones. Whilst we all know that we must do these things for the common good of all it doesn’t make it any easier.

What we do know is that there is actually a name for this - it’s called ‘Surge Capacity’. Surge Capacity is a collection of adaptive systems - mental and physical - that humans draw upon for short term survival in acutely stressful situations such as natural disasters. The issue lies in the fact that our surge capacity only allows us to adapt to major disasters if they are temporary.  However, with the pandemic, the disaster stretches out indefinitely and the emergency phase has become almost chronic.

So, because this is going on and on and on your surge, capacity is depleted and needs to be renewed. We need to find ways and things we can do that will make us feel better. We need some ‘feel good’ moments. Some of these might include:

• Accepting life is a little different now
• Expecting less from yourself
• Recognising the different aspects of grief
• Look for activities new and old that continue to fulfil you
• Focus on maintaining and strengthening important relationships
• Build regular practices into your life that promote resilience such as better sleep, good nutrition, exercise, prayer, meditation, self-compassion and saying no.

I am most fortunate to have many ‘feel good’ moments that I witness or am a part of at Good Samaritan. The most recent is the series of Dance Move videos that Mrs Jancetic has made with the students. Take 5 minutes to watch The Twist @ GSFM - you can only come away smiling and feeling good!

Until next time, as we journey together with Jesus,

Toni Sillis

Principal