How anxiety affects you

My column in Mindanao Daily, Businessweek Mindanao and Metro Cagayan de Oro Times

A drawn-out stressful situation can make simple tasks feel more difficult than they used to be. I experienced it myself since my German Consulate Office in Davao reopened. Both, my consulate clients and I got the same feelings.

Feel like you can’t concentrate on anything at the moment? You’re not alone. The extra anxiety caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has impaired our working memory, experts say. As writer and journalist, Kate Morgan stresses several days ago: we all know the feeling. You walk into a room with a mission and then stop, confused, and a little disjointed, realizing you have completely forgotten why you’re there.

Since the coronavirus’ spread began, almost all of us have been having that feeling of forgetting why I’m in another room dozens of times a day. We're finding it almost impossible to focus on anything at all. 

I can’t keep a phone number in my head long enough to dial it, and it takes forever to write a simple email. I start in on a task, and it’s only a few minutes before I’m distracted. My productivity has plummeted. Meanwhile, when at my home office alone, it's getting better step by step...

What was happening, is a malfunction of working memory: the ability to grasp incoming information, form it into a cohesive thought, and hold onto it long enough to do what you need to with it. “Think of it as the mental platform for our cognitive operations, for what we’re thinking now,” says Matti Laine, a professor of psychology at Åbo Akademi University in Finland. “Working memory is closely related to attention. You’re focusing on some task, some goal, some directive or behavior you want to get accomplished.”

In other words, working memory is the ability to reason in real-time, and it’s a big part of what makes the human brain so powerful. But research has shown that rapidly changing circumstances, worry, and anxiety can all have a significant impact on your ability to focus.

Rapidly-changing circumstances, worry, and anxiety can all have a significant impact on your ability to focus

“Long before the pandemic, we completed an online study with a large group of American adults who filled out self-assessment questionnaires,” says Laine. “We saw a trend of a negative relationship between anxiety and working memory. The higher the anxiety, the lower the working memory performance.” When you’re having an acute anxious experience – say, someone, threatening is walking behind you on your way home in the dark – it means you might have trouble recalling the details of their face. A drawn-out stressful situation can also ravage the working memory, making even the simplest tasks feel more difficult than they used to be.

“We’re talking about anxiety and stress that’s not acute,” says Laine. “It’s related to a deeply uncertain future. You don’t know – does it continue this summer, this autumn? Nobody knows. It’s leading us to a more chronic anxiety situation.”

New situations. New experiences. 

While collecting data for an as-yet-unpublished study on working memory training this spring, Laine says he and his team asked about 200 people from the UK and North America whether they had anxiety specifically linked to the pandemic.

Sustained anxiety can also cause insomnia, explains Oliver Robinson of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. “Lack of sleep is a really good way of impairing working memory,” he says. “If you’re not sleeping as well, that’s a great way to wreck it.”

Even if you’re not explicitly aware of being more on edge, “it’s something you’re processing,” adds Robinson. Working memory problems might also be due in part to a cognitive load that’s overwhelming your brain’s capacity.

Ducking out to the shops used to be a mundane activity. Now with Covid-19, there are many more steps in the process that increase anxiety and mental load, wrote Kate Morgan. 

The good news is you can exercise working memory. There are lots of ‘brain games’ out there, but playing most of them, experts agree, doesn’t do anything except make you better at that game. “Cognitive training games don’t make me better at remembering my shopping list,” says Robinson. “That’s like trying to train people to play tennis by having them run.”

In other words, rebooting your working memory may also mean cutting down on your news consumption and considering a break from social media. But the most effective thing to do might simply be to convince yourself it’s OK to be struggling. That helped me a lot for several days....

Wichtige Hinweise der Deutschen Rentenversicherung (DRV)

Stand: April 2020 

Wichtige Hinweise der Deutschen Rentenversicherung (DRV) zu den Auswirkungen der Covid19- Pandemie auf die Ausstellung von Lebensbescheinigungen und Rentenzahlungen im Ausland

Bitte beachten Sie, dass die folgenden Hinweise unter Mitwirkung der DRV erstellt wurden und nur für deren Rentenzahlungen verbindlich sind. Bei Lebensbescheinigungen und Rentenzahlungen anderer Versorgungsträger (z.B. Versorgungswerke oder private Rentenversicherer) gibt es möglicherweise andere Regelungen, die im Einzelfall abzuklären und zu beachten wären.

1. Vereinfachtes Verfahren für Lebensbescheinigungen der DRV im Jahr 2020

Aufgrund der weltweiten Situation, in der Menschen aufgefordert sind, zu Hause zu bleiben und viele Behörden und Ämter ihren Kundenverkehr eingestellt oder stark eingeschränkt haben, möchte die DRV darauf hinweisen, dass es bei Lebensbescheinigungen für das Jahr 2020 für alle Rentenberechtigten im Ausland ein vereinfachtes Verfahren geben wird. Eine Bestätigung der Lebensbescheinigung durch eine Behörde / amtliche Stelle im jeweiligen Wohnsitzland wird nicht erforderlich sein. Die Rentenempfänger füllen die Lebensbescheinigungen selbst aus und senden diese direkt (ohne Bestätigung einer amtlichen Stelle) an die DRV zurück.

Die DRV wird die Rentenberechtigten unmittelbar im Anschreiben zur Lebensbescheinigung über dieses vereinfachte Verfahren informieren. Zudem werden auf den Internetseiten der Deutschen Post AG / Renten Service und der Deutschen Rentenversicherung entsprechende Hinweise zum vereinfachten Verfahren zur Verfügung gestellt, falls das Anschreiben mit dem Lebensbescheinigungs-Formular den Rentenberechtigten nicht erreicht haben sollte. 

2. Begutachtungen

Gegenwärtig werden keine ärztlichen Begutachtungen im Zusammenhang mit Anträgen auf Erwerbsminderungsrenten durchgeführt; dies betrifft auch Rentenverfahren mit Auslandsbezug. 

3. Beeinträchtigung der Postzustellung von Schecks in das Ausland

Im Hinblick darauf, dass Rentenempfänger ihre deutsche Rente unter anderem auch per Scheck (insbesondere USA und Kanada sowie Italien) erhalten, wird darauf hingewiesen, dass es aktuell sowohl beim internationalen Postverkehr als auch bei der lokalen Postzustellung zu Beeinträchtigungen und Verzögerungen kommen kann. Dies kann dazu führen, dass Rentenberechtigte den Scheck verspätet oder teilweise gar nicht zugestellt bekommen. Die DRV möchte daher rein vorsorglich auf die Möglichkeit einer Umstellung von Scheckzahlung auf Kontozahlung hinweisen.

Nähere Informationen bezüglich der Zahlungserklärung finden Rentenberechtigte auf der Internetseite des Deutsche Post - Renten Service: 

https://www.deutschepost.de/de/r/rentenservice/downloadcenter.html 

Bei möglichen Einschränkungen des Kundenverkehrs von Banken und Geldinstituten gelten folgende Erleichterungen, falls die Bank keine Bestätigung der Zahlungserklärung vornehmen sollte bzw. der Rentenberechtigte sein Geldinstitut derzeit nicht aufsuchen kann: Anstelle einer Bankbestätigung genügt auch ein aktueller Kontoauszug (nicht älter als 30 Tage), aus dem die Angaben zur Bankverbindung des Rentenberechtigten hervorgehen. Die Zahlungserklärung und evtl. der Kontoauszug mit den Angaben zur Bankverbindung können per Post/Fax/E-Mail an die Deutsche Post AG, Renten Service geschickt werden: 

Deutsche Post AG Niederlassung Renten Service 13496 Berlin Germany

 E-Mail: rentenservice@deutschepost.de 

Telefon: +49 221 5692-777 Fax: +49 221 5692-778

STAY ALERT DURING RAINY SEASON

Posted on June 17, 2020  by administrator

Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte has advised Dabawenyos, especially those residing in danger-zones, to stay alert and vigilant against risks of disaster and diseases common during wet season.

Mayor Sara warned that calamities such as flooding and landslides can happen as the country enters the rainy season from June to December.“Ang dala sa ulan, number one – landslide, ikaduha – baha, lightning. Mag-ingat ta everytime na kusog ang ulan (The rainy season can cause number one – landslide, second – flood, lighting. Let’s be vigilant during heavy rains),” she advised.

The mayor said it is also the season when diseases affect people such as leptospirosis, dengue, and tetanus.“Usually dala aning ulan is ang mga sakit nga leptospirosis, mao na siya ang hugaw sa ilaga na naa sa floodwater. So dili ta basta-basta mulusong sa tubig baha because duna na siya’y dala na mga hugaw, mga kagaw. Dili lang ang leptospirosis, posible tang masamad and magkasakit ta og tetanus (Usually the rain brings diseases like leptospirosis which is a bacterial infection acquired from rats during flood. We should avoid floodwater because of the bacteria and germs in it. Aside from that, we can get wounds and get tetanus),” Mayor Sara stressed.

She also reminded the people to be aware of their surroundings as dengue can be widespread influenced by rainfall. Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection.“Paniguraduhon nato nga malabay nato ang mga nagpundo nga hugaw nga tubig kay posible ni siya nga mahimong balay sa mga lamok (Let’s ensure to throw away the dirty, stagnant water because mosquitos inhabit there),” she warned.She said that increase of cases like these (dengue, leptospirosis, tetanus) will add to the problem in the hospitals not being able to serve so many patients.“Kung mudaghan atong mga dengue cases, kung mudaghan atong mga leptospirosis, ang mga nasakit ug tetanus… tanan nga lain nga sakit, magdungan sila tanan sa hospital so mubalik na pud ta sa atoang problema nga dili na makakaya ang atoang hospital nga magcarry og mga tao nga dunay sakit (If our dengue, leptospirosis, tetanus cases, and all other diseases increase and patients overwhelm the hospital, we will go back again to our problem of hospitals not being able to cater everyone),” Mayor Sara said.

CIO

DDO goes digital for household profiling and assessment

After a series of launching for the digital innovations of the Davao de Oro farmers (DDO Bagsakan), Virtual Capitol for the on line services, Call DdOC for those who needs medical attention thru online for the out-patient in 4 hospitals of the province, this time the household survey will be fully digitalized.

Through KoboCollect-powered application for the Household Profiling and Needs Assessment (HNPA), it is an easy way to get data and information from the people of DDO. Using any mobile device with Koolbox Apps, the transmission of data online for validation is faster compare to manual data gathering.

The main purpose is to value the importance of establishing a concrete, accurate and reliable baseline data that provides a point of reference and serves as basis for the decision makers and development planners to come up with an evidence-based quality, doable and implementable plans, policies programs and projects to be prioritized in facing the COVID-19 crisis.

Through this way the government will get new, accurate and correct data in terms of health, demographics characteristics, building/house structural characteristics, climate change and disaster information, and accessibility and communication.

On June 10, 2020 the Provincial Household Profiling and Needs Assessment Committee (PHPNAC) of DDO kicks off its activities with the Households Enumeration and Geo-tagging. Trained teams went to Barangays Sao-sao, Conception, Nueva Visayas and Andili of the Municipality of Mawab for the ongoing survey.

"The provincial management acknowledges the importance of having a qualify data set that facilitates in understanding the general situation and specific characteristics of individual households and family or all households in the population of the province, whereby decision making and policy investments will be appropriately directed towards implementation of programs and projects that best serve to the people in need", part of the Executive Order 0039-2020 states.

This activity is set to be completed until November this year and shall be conducted in all municipalities of the province as part of steeping up data collection, and improving DDO through Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

(Rey Antibo, ID DDO)

Davao de Oro gives out food packs to displaced tourism workers

Davao de Oro --- A total of 228 displaced tourism workers received grocery food packs from the provincial government of Davao de Oro spearheaded by Governor Jayvee Tyron L. Uy to help withstand amidst the crisis brought by COVID-19 pandemic.

The affected workers were from 16 tourism establishments which were not included to COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) under Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Tourism establishments such as resorts, hotels, inns, travel agencies and restaurants were the first to hit the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) and were closed for almost three months due to close-contact activities that may happen. The owners are at a great disadvantage and the employees are also the most affected.

The Provincial Tourism Office of Davao de Oro facilitated the application of 86 tourism establishments through DOLE's CAMP assistance whereas each employee receives Php 5,000 and only 70 of them are included in the program.

As a result, Governor Uy mobilized the release of food packs to the listed establishments as follows: Plates N'Cups, Lake Leonard Ecotourism, Beach View Resort, Tony's Beach Resort, Dayok Dayok Beach Resort, Comval Hotel, Rain and Angel Beach Resort, Einkorn Bakeshop, Leopard, Bundan, LS, Edison's Marie and Katrina's, Katrina's Grill, Pepito's Café and Countryside Café.

It is also a welcome blessing that within the new Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ), the establishment can start again and operate under 50% operational capacity after obtaining the Certificate of Authority to Operate (CAO) by the Department of Tourism for accommodation establishments (AEs) and provisional permits for non-AEs issued BY the Mayor's Office.

Not even the dreaded virus can take away the “bayanihan” spirit of the people in the province of Davao de Oro, ensuring that no one will be left behind. (Rheafe Hortizano, ID Davao de Oro)

Davao de Oro receives Pro-ACT’s handwashing facilities and hygiene kits

Davao de Oro Province--- Highly recommended by professionals in the medical field, handwashing remains one of the best prevention against acquiring the COVID-19 infection. Handwashing is a simple form of habit that could save lives of many when properly done in homes, workplaces and institutions both private and public.

In partnership with Pro-ACT implemented by Action Against Hunger and Fundacion Codespa, a total of 15 (fifteen) units of hand-washing facilities was handed-over to the Provincial Government of Davao de Oro together with the 68 hygiene kits or the basic PPEs for the municipal and barangay responders.

These hand washing facilities and hygiene kits mitigates the possible transmission of any forms of disease-causing agents including COVID-19. Pro-ACT’s initiatives also includes the distribution of food packs to families with senior citizens and person with disabilities to some barangays in the municipalities of Maco, Mabini, Nabunturan and Pantukan reaching a total of 1,333 families covered.

In addition, Action Against Hunger and Fundacion CODESPA’s COVID-19 response focuses in the distribution of food items, hygiene kits and hand washing facilities as well as the provision of agricultural inputs to selected and pre-identified Farmer’s Association or Cooperatives allowing them to minimize agricultural production losses and at the same time ensuring their families’ livelihood amidst the emerging crisis.

(Jasteen Abella, ID DAVAO DE ORO)

Europas Grenzen öffnen sich wieder

Polen, Tschechien, Frankreich, Norwegen: Die wegen der Corona-Pandemie eingeführten Beschränkungen an innereuropäischen Grenzen fallen nach und nach weg. Die "günstige Entwicklung" macht's möglich.

Polen öffnet seine Grenzen zu EU-Ländern (picture-alliance/dpa/S. Sauer)
Seit 13. Juni 2020, 0 Uhr, wieder offen: die deutsch-polnische Grenze

Nach knapp drei Monaten hat Polen seine Grenzen zu allen EU-Nachbarländern wieder geöffnet. Bereits am Freitag waren die Beschränkungen an der Grenze zu Litauen weggefallen - am frühen Samstagmorgen dann auch an den Grenzen zu Deutschland, Tschechien und zur Slowakei.

Für Nicht-EU-Staaten gilt die Regelung vorerst nicht, weil nach Ansicht der polnischen Regierung in einigen Staaten insbesondere in Lateinamerika und Nordamerika die Lage immer noch besorgniserregend ist. Auch Kontrollen an Polens Grenzen zur Ukraine, Weißrussland und zur russischen Exklave Kaliningrad (Königsberg) bleiben erhalten.

Frankreich hebt die Beschränkungen an seinen Grenzen für EU-Reisende am 15. Juni weitgehend auf. Dies geschehe in Übereinstimmung mit den Empfehlungen der Europäischen Kommission, teilten das Innen- und das Außenministerium in Paris mit. Menschen aus den Mitgliedsstaaten der EU sowie aus Andorra, Island, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norwegen, San Marino, der Schweiz und dem Vatikan dürfen dann wieder ungehindert einreisen. Ausnahmen gelten weiterhin für Spanien und Großbritannien - einschließlich einer zweiwöchigen Quarantänepflicht für Einreisende, die in beiden Ländern ebenfalls besteht.

Frankreich Carling, Grenze zu Deutschland | Coronavirus | Baguette-Übergabe (Getty Images/AFP/J.C. Verhaegen)

Wird nächste Woche abgebaut: Absperrung an der deutsch-französischen Grenze

Seine Grenzen zu Ländern außerhalb des Schengen-Raums will Frankreich ab dem 1. Juli schrittweise öffnen. Der Zeitpunkt der Öffnung werde "je nach Gesundheitslage in den verschiedenen Drittstaaten" variieren und den Vereinbarungen entsprechen, "die bis dahin auf europäischer Ebene beschlossen worden sein werden".

Auch Tschechien öffnet seine Grenzen ab Montag für Bürger fast aller EU-Staaten, der Schweiz und aus Liechtenstein. Ermöglicht werde dies durch die günstige epidemiologische Entwicklung, teilte das Gesundheitsministerium in Prag mit. Die wegen der Pandemie eingeführten Grenzkontrollen zu Deutschland und Österreich waren bereits vor einer Woche  aufgehoben worden.

Bestehen bleibt das tschechische Einreiseverbot indes für Reisende mit Wohnsitz in Belgien, Portugal, Großbritannien, Schweden sowie der polnischen Woiwodschaft Schlesien. Diese Territorien gelten nach Ansicht der Behörden als Risikogebiete für eine Coronavirus-Infektion.

Norwegen will am Montag die Grenzen zu fast allen Nachbarländern ebenfalls wieder öffnen, wie die Regierung des Schengenstaates in Oslo bekanntgab. Reisende könnten von Dänemark, Finnland und Island problemlos nach Norwegen kommen - bei Schweden gebe es regionale Regelungen: Vorerst dürften nur Besucher von der Insel Gotland einreisen, weil in den anderen Regionen Schwedens das Infektionsniveau noch nicht "akzeptabel" sei.

wa/fw (dpa, afp, rtr)

THE BEAUTY OF NATURE

In times with Covid-19, more and more friends of mine are enjoying to share beautiful places of Mindanao. Their posts on Facebook have been paired with the desire to going there if the coronavirus is gone. Then we might be free. We might be allowed to go wherever we want to go. Meanwhile, I shared the same desire and dreams with them too.

If you talk about the beauty of nature, automatically creation sings God's praise. Psalm 104 shows appreciation for every aspect of nature, even creatures like wild goats, lions, and others. The Israelites, as herders and farmers, had no romantic idealization of the outdoors. Nobody who herds sheep thinks of them as soft and fluffy pets. But to the poet who wrote Psalm 104, creatures that are no "use" to anyone still have intrinsic worth - especially to God.

The intertwining of nature is not, for the psalmist, like a complex machine, dangerously sensitive. Things fit together because a personal God watches over them. Every breath of life depends on His will.

Modern people nowadays are often preoccupied with the fear of overcrowding and poisoning nature. This might happen again if we are leaving free after the coronavirus lockdown has been lifted. The psalms show not such fear, for overcrowding and pollution were not major problems in that preindustrial civilization. Yet interestingly enough, the psalm ends with a wish that God would clean up the earth. The beauty of the earth, made by God, calls out for purity - purity of the heart.

If we will be "free" soon and able to discover our surroundings, we should ask ourselves, how does nature affect us. And, even more important: how do we affect nature?

Philippines benefits from new German aid protecting agriculture and food security

Germany just granted new assistance (around EUR 3 million or Php 165 million) to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The money is for a project benefitting also the Philippines: “Scaling-up Early Warning Early Action (EWEA) for agriculture and food security”.

The Embassy is pleased to inform about this new financial support in times of the global COVID-19 pandemic. It underlines that German support for the Philippines continues in times of crisis, and it shows that German aid looks beyond the immediate needs into the wider future.

Said initiative follows a new, forward-looking approach to humanitarian assistance. It supports high risk countries in Africa, Central Asia and the Philippines which are considered vulnerable to natural hazards and conflict. The project aims to protect agricultural livelihoods and food security of vulnerable households by acting before a disaster strikes. Therefore it reduces humanitarian needs, preventing the deterioration of food security and strengthening resilience.
In order to link early warning to early actions that can lessen the impact of a disaster, partner countries will be supported in their risk analysis, activation and implementation process among others.

#germanyinphl #botschaftMNL #humanitarianassistance #agriculture #FAO #EWEA

4TH ROUND OF FOOD AID TO ‘PIPS’

DAVAO CITY COMPLETES 4TH ROUND OF FOOD AID TO ‘PIPS’

Posted on June 9, 2020  by administrator

The Davao City government has completed the fourth round of the food distribution to the Women/People in Prostitution (PIP) whose source of income is also affected by the movement restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gina A. Molon, in-charge of the food assistance and the Officer-in-Charge of the Pre-schooler and Children’s Concern Division (PSCCD) of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), said CSWDO has reached out to a total of 323 PIPs in the areas of San Pedro, Legaspi, Anda, Claveria, and Tiongco. Together with the food assistance, CSWDO also distributed hotline number cards in case they would need psychosocial assistance.

Molon said CSWDO has identified these beneficiaries previously because they are already clients of the city government’s different programs, advocacies, and livelihood assistance.

“Ato na man gyud na sila’ng kleyente. In fact, na-organize na nato sila. Naa ta’y organizations sa mga People in Prostitution (They are already our clients. In fact, we have organized them, we have organization for the People in Prostitution),” Molon said.

She added that aside from the livelihood assistance their children are also beneficiaries of the city’s educational program.“Beneficiary nato na sila sa atong mga livelihood ug sa atong educational assistance sa ilang mga kabataan (They are beneficiaries of our livelihood and the educational assistance for their children),” she noted. CIO