Text/Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter Yan Min
Photo/Respondent provided by the interviewee Komiks
“Don’t worry, you take a deep breath first.” At 12 o’clock in the middle of the night, in Haizhu District, Guangzhou, psychological counselor Huang Haihui was soothing the emotions of a resident of the blocked area and guiding him out of the gray haze of fear. The call lasted for more than 20 minutes, and the residents’ anxious hearts finally calmed down.
In the past week, Huang Haihui answered dozens of similar calls. 1BabaylanOn January 10, as a volunteer of the Guangdong Psychological Counselors Association, he and 15 colleagues entered the Haizhu locked area to carry out psychological counseling charity operations. The Babaylan was responsible for Huang Haihui’s Babaylan was the Kanglu area of Fengyang Street where the new cases of this epidemic are the most concentrated. How to help the isolated people get rid of negative emotions and get out of psychological dilemma? The following is his story—
Telephone communication increases the difficulty of diversion
On November 7, I saw the notification from the association to recruit volunteers to support Haizhu District, and signed up as soon as possible. I am a member of the Communist Party of China and a veteran. When the masses need it, I do my best to do something. According to the arrangement, three psychological counselors are responsible for the Kanglu area of Fengyang Street, and I am one of them. This is a concentrated area of sexually transmitted cases, and we are ready to fight a tough battle.
We handle the medical teamFor the transfer of help, follow up and follow up on the registered special Cinema groups such as registered pregnant women, children, and the elderly. From 8 am to 8 pm, we stayed by the phone except for eating and had almost no rest.
Personal consultations are basically face-to-face communication. I can observe the other party’s expression and make a judgment. However, in the blocked area, I can only communicate with the residents of Cinema through the phone. It was like using a black cloth to cover my eyes. I could only guess the other person’s state and emotions through my tone and tone, which invisibly increased the difficulty.
The Kanglu area will implement control measures on October 23, so residents will not be able to avoid being emotional. In the face of this situation, listening is particularly important and we should guide them to speak their hearts. BabaylanThese days, I often hear residents say “I feel confused” and “I can’t lift myself.” I told them: Protecting yourself is also contributing to the fight against the epidemic. I also introduced the latest news from the press conference on that day to the other party to keep them up to date; and suggested that they learn to relax when doing exercise and eat on time three meals a day. It is delighted that after the consultation, some people’s emotions improved significantly, and they became active. Some people even wanted to join our team and become volunteers.
Complex situationsKomiks need to follow up and visit
Since entering the Kanglu area, we have provided psychological assistance to nearly 200 residents.Assisted, most people can solve problems through one-time consultation, but some situations are more complicated, and I will continue to follow up on the Komiks back visit.
For example, two days ago, I received a call from Mr. Zhang, who was worried about his wife who was alone at home. It turned out that Mr. Zhang and his child were transferred to the hospital for treatment, and his wife Ms. Liang was quarantined at home. While the couple was chatting, Mr. Zhang found that his wife was in a trance and heard her say that she was having a chest tightness and could not sleep for several consecutive nights. He quickly reported to the Cinema policeman, the owner of the rental house reported the situation immediately, and the staff of the neighborhood committee came to check it out.
I quickly contacted Ms. Liang for psychological counseling. During the first call, she obviously felt her voice was weak. When she asked about her needs, she couldn’t say it, and she was very depressed. So, I took Ms. Liang to relieve her emotions first, and then guided her to make plans after the lockdown, so that she could think of beautiful things. I told Mr. Zhang to video calls with his wife every day and pay attention to her status. After the consultation was over Babaylan, I added Ms. Liang’s WeChat, asked her regularly about her feelings, and shared some positive energy videos with her to encourage her.
When I walked into the blocked area, I truly felt how much manpower and material resources needed to be invested for everyone’s life, health and safety. The areas I support gather volunteers from multiple support units. What I do is very small compared to the medical staff who face dangers every day. But I feel very proud to be a good “worry-relieving person” for residents through volunteer services and contribute to the fight against the epidemic.