What is the psychological impact of the COVID-19 Vaccine Division on you, your family, your community and Australia?

Is Vaxxism affecting your life?

The world was not ready for a pandemic. Not medically, systemically, economically and definitely not emotionally. Worldwide pandemic was not on the Future Proofing list. Our resilience has been battered and challenged in every way.

When something is Future Proofed it is resilient, adaptable, and prepared for stress and shock. We were not, and it was evident by the way so many decisions were made on the run, medically and politically.

I empathise, and do not envy the decision makers in Australia and worldwide. After almost 2-years we have learned a lot, and at the same time we are still clueless about the way forward. Either the Politician’s aren’t telling us, or they don’t know. The uncertainty has not gone away with a jab…and the freedom many were waiting for has not returned after 90% double vaccinations in Australia. I understand that this varies from location to location.

Now we have the Omicron variant to consider, and reports so far indicate that this is a very contagious and less deadly variant. The virus is doing what it has to do…and like all viruses over time it appears it may be becoming weaker. Either way, there will be other variants. The impact of that uncertainty provides and ongoing unsettling feeling.

So, where to from here? Hindsight is a powerful thing, and there will no doubt be people talking about what could be improved next time around…but I want to highlight the ongoing psychological impact that vaccine division is having in Australia and on Australians.

My focus in everything I do is to ask two question about a person or a system:

1. Where is the resilience here?

2. How are we building more resilience?

I have been asking that a lot over the past year, and I have come up wanting. At the beginning “we were in this together”. Even with all the uncertainty there was hope, because of community solidarity. There was a lot of fear of catching the virus, and there still is for many. However the psychological impacts today go well beyond this fear. At a time when staying together is needed more than ever, the division in the air is palpable.

By default, in Australia we now have two classes of citizens: those who are vaccinated and those who aren’t. How do we balance the epidemiological health imperatives and not ignore the psychological impacts on everyday Australians who don’t want to vaccinate, or who vaccinated hesitantly and now regret it?

The thing is, we all have human needs, personal values and old wounds that we are protecting. So, when we change our perspective from ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, to seeing the other person as someone who is also protecting their needs, their personal values and their own wounds, we can move from defensiveness and blame to becoming more accepting of our differences.

This makes respecting differences in values and ideas, and finding common ground possible. I see more similarities than differences; stress; fear; confusion, anger, sadness, grief, and loss of control. I suggest that finding common ground is an imperative for the psychological and economic wellbeing future of all Australians.

There are some fundamentals about human beings and the way we respond to the world around us that have been missed in all of this response to the pandemic. There are followers and leaders…acceptors and questioners…supporters and innovators.

This is the way of humanity.

We can thank the leaders, questioners, and innovators for some of the most profound discoveries and changes the world has seen.

These are people who take the highest level of personal responsibility and risk, and they have always been the ones who shake things up, provide new perspectives, invent new things, and capture the hearts of people.

Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Eddie Mabo, Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Rosie Batty, Grace Tame.

Why did I pick the above people? They:

• are reluctant heroes and heroines;
• stood up for equity, rights and for a better world when others did not or could not;
• led or lead with compassion, courage, vulnerability, forgiveness, and unmovable resilience;
• have mobilised people, they sought change, and they created it.

So, why are we today so critical of those who question, who seek different solutions, who want to understand as anarchists and crazies?

On a human front, because of a person’s vaccine status:

• people are losing their jobs and homes;
• people who have never experienced discrimination are experiencing it for the very first time;
• others are experiencing another layer of discrimination to their existing discrimination;
• some who are vaccinated are screaming at the unvaccinated;
• others who are not vaccinated  are screaming at the vaccinated; and
• families and friends have turned their backs on each other.

Let’s be clear….threats and acts of violence against anyone are unacceptable. Some Politicians are screaming at people who are vaccine hesitant or don’t want to vaccinate. There are people threatening politicians and even their families. This is not helping anyone’s cause. It affirms positions and polarizes resistance. This is not rocket science, it’s basic psychology.

Not one person wants anyone to catch COVID-19. Regardless of which side of the debate you’re on or what opinion you hold, we all want safety, security, happiness, and freedom, and to leave the best possible opportunities and future for the next generations.

There are many reasons why a person is vaccine hesitant or is firm in that they don’t want to vaccinate at all. The limited research we have right now on the psychology suggests high levels of fear and anxiety. These are not the only reason, but without the involvement of the psychological based services and research at every step of the pandemic intervention rollout, we may never know.

For the people who felt coerced to vaccinate or vaccinated because of the promise of freedom, I have had people express anxiety, fear and resentment. We don’t actually know how many of those vaccinated are in this category, as no such psychological information was or is gathered at the time of vaccination.

For the record, I am not against vaccination. I am in support of people having a choice. As a woman, I am sensitive about rights over my body being taken away from me. Whilst I understand the medical imperatives here, it still concerns me.

However, professionally I also see all sides of the situation with absolute clarity, understanding and compassion. What stands out for me at the moment is a growing group of citizens that are being excluded from society. Some would say that this is their decision because they won’t vaccinate, and that they are selfish…I, however, see it differently. Self-betrayal for the greater good is a tough pill to swallow. For strongly principled people who have different perspectives about life and mainstream medicine, this goes against their fundamental needs and beliefs. Just like someone who strongly believes in vaccinations and won’t be swayed, neither will they.

Right now thousands are walking away from their workplaces. They are experiencing incredible levels of stress and fear. They are in reality going through a major life transition, with all the psychological and practical complexities that come with life transitions. Thousands of people out of the workforce logically leads to an economic impact, personally and for Australia. From what I can tell, many of them are still considered employed, as they are stood down, not having resigned or been fired. This places them outside the unemployment figures.

For how long can we keep them out? Do they need reskilling and do we need to create industries that allow unvaccinated people to continue to be part of our economy? Are we leaving them to fend for themselves…without any support? These are conversations that need to be had, logically and without emotion, because this is the reality of what Australians are experiencing right now.

Australia has already lived policies that affords one group of citizens different rights to another. It was called the White Australian Policy. Australia is still recovering from that policy on so many levels. Then there is racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia…..and the list goes on. With all these there are policies and laws that allow them to continue, and for many Australians change is slow and ongoing.

I have been considering the current world events and have defined another ‘ism’.

Vaxxism:

Discrimination against someone based on their vaccination status, regardless of their health or psychological status for their choice. Compromising their right to employment, health care, freedom of travel, recreational activities and the ability to thrive. 

There is a cost to Vaxxism, as there always is with any discrimination. The longer this division is supported, without a plan for an end to all of this, we decrease our country’s well-being and resilience, and impact on our future. There is a direct impact on Future Proofing our people and our economy.

Please STOP… and take a breath. Australia we can do better than this. We can find common ground. Let’s go back to solidarity and the concept that ‘we are all in this together’…and make a commitment to move forward from here. I talk to vaccinated people from all walks of life, and many say to me that it is time to bring everyone back together. Even those who don’t agree with people who are not vaccinating can agree that the separation between vaccinated and unvaccinated can’t go on long term.

I pose that question again…..So, where to from here?

1. For every day Australians, a starting point is to value and learn from differences rather than allowing them to be a reason for attack and division. Finding compassion, understanding for each other, no matter what your vaccination status. Let’s go back to the solidarity of ‘we are all in this together’. Let your politicians know that you want a plan that allows all Australians the opportunity to thrive, and deals with the health safety of our country, with regards to the virus, and for our emotional and economic wellbeing too. 

2. Leaders in health, business and wellbeing need to come together to address the health, emotional and economic needs of all Australians, vaccinated and unvaccinated. Perhaps they already are and we just haven’t heard about it. If they are, I for one would love to talk with them. If you want to talk….reach out to me and let’s start the conversation and some action…..logically, compassionately and calmly.

It is reasonable to have the leaders, questioners and innovators with different views and ideas as part of the conversation towards a more balanced way of addressing these issues.

The more people who speak up, and take action from a place of common sense, understanding and compassion … and a vision of ‘we are all in this together’, the quicker we will find a way through to the other side. Resilience is not an isolated state of being. People who are resilient have strong networks and communities that they know they can count on. This is how we thrive and Future Proof ourselves and our future generations. Australians who can count on Australians, no matter what our differences are…..I for one would love that to be the future and our legacy out of this pandemic.