Psychologist urges Australians to send "virtual hugs" to benefit mental and physical health.

A group of Australian profit-to-member super funds has come together to urge people to reach out to the nation's three million essential workers with a virtual hug, as they reveal unprecedented levels of enquiries on life insurance and updates to death nominations in the wake of COVID-19.

Scott Cameron, CEO of five super funds including Equipsuper and Catholic Super that represent nearly 150,000 members mostly in frontline industries, said they received a large increase from members and employers enquiring about arrangements in the case of death.

“For some funds, we received a 136% increase in members enquiring about their arrangements if they pass away or become ill.

Catholic Super has seen more than double the enquiries in life insurance and income protection in March compared to the same time last year, and Equipsuper has received unprecedented levels of requests for paperwork to update death nominations from employers representing hundreds of employees,” said Mr Cameron.

“Our super funds represent a lot of frontline workers, from medical professionals to education, mining, essential services and aged care.

What’s clear is there’s genuine concern about their own lives and the health of their families.   

“That’s why we launched the #IOUaHug campaign, to acknowledge the resilience, devotion and bravery that frontline workers have shown during the COVID-19 outbreak.”  

The campaign features a video of frontline workers having real conversations with their loved ones, which people can share on social media with the hashtag #IOUaHug.

“We are all looking forward to restrictions being eased, but in the meantime we hope the #IOUaHug campaign encourages Australians to reach out to frontline workers with a virtual show of support and the promise of a physical hug when it’s safe,” said Mr Cameron.

Recent data on the heightened stress and anxiety amongst healthcare frontline workers from TKW, suggests more than three quarters of Australian healthcare professionals worried about contracting the virus or passing it on to others, and 59 per cent are feeling the impact of spending less time with friends.

A General Practitioner (GP) from Melbourne’s north-west, Dr Rachel Forth, feels constant worry: “I’m concerned about contracting coronavirus and I fear passing it onto my partner. She’s currently working from home, so her only contact with the outside is me. It’s a big responsibility; it would be my fault if she got sick.”

“I feel helpless with regards to my family. As a GP, I’m helping people at work but I can’t help my family at all.”

Psychologist Rebecca Thomas highlights the significant physical and mental health risks that come from distancing oneself from family and friends.

“Essential workers are distancing themselves from their families much more than others at the moment. I’ve had conversations with clients who won’t even touch their partner for fear of making them sick,” Ms Thomas said.

“Studies that have shown social isolation has real, negative effects on wellbeing. A lack of social connection has been associated with heightening health risks as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”

Ms Thomas says it’s more important than ever to connect with each other: “Hugs release oxytocin, also known as the “cuddle drug”, which has a host of amazing benefits, and people are missing out on that right now.”

“We know that through social connection we also release oxytocin, and we can actually produce the same physiological effect as hugging from a virtual gesture.”

Ms Thomas says the super funds’ #IOUaHug campaign is an important gesture which can improve frontline workers’ ability to recover from the stress experienced during the Coronvairus outbreak.

“I recommend people reach out to frontline workers and give them a virtual “gratitude” hug by telling someone one to three things you love about that person, or why you appreciate them. You can also let a loved one know you care with a message on social media and the hashtag #IOUaHug. This can give them a similar feeling, and sometimes even better, than what they would get from a hug.”

“Receiving and also providing support, or telling someone the things you appreciate about them, releases oxytocin. One of the physical benefits of this chemical is that it protects the body in a stress response.

The more we socially connect, the more oxytocin we produce, and the stronger we become in recovering from stressful situations, like what healthcare workers are currently experiencing,” she explained.

The campaign runs amidst the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics heard the COVID-19 pandemic has driven Australians to ask their life insurers about whether their policies cover them for suicide.

Mr Cameron said: “Our super funds felt it was important to let our members and pensioners know that we are recognising their concerns, and we want to say thank you for all that frontline workers have done over the past months.”