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Things I have learned from being an emergency chaplain that might be relevant to Victorians at the moment: in a disaster, natural or otherwise, your body acts to help you survive by putting you into hyperstress - fight or flight mode. Your body is flooded with the stress 1/5
hormone cortisol, which increases your heart rate and breathing. This heightened state of arousal is going to help you become aware of danger and run away from it much more quickly than you normally would. But it will muck up other functions: you are unlikely to be 2/5
sleeping or digesting food well, for instance. You may struggle to understand and remember things said to you. Your emotions will be much more volatile and you may find it harder to control the negative ones like anger. ALL THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NORMAL. But if it goes on too 3/5
long it can lead to post-traumatic symptoms. So in a longterm natural disaster like covid19 is, it is really important that you find things that can help you de-stress. You’ll know what works best for you; for me it is running and reading antiquarian children’s books. But, 4/5
what you are feeling is normal; what those around you are feeling is also normal; you and they are probably going to be more emotional than usual, and that’s fine; just give yourself and them lots of slack. Take deep breaths to help reduce arousal. Be gentle with yourself. 
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