The mental health emergency: How has the coronavirus pandemic impacted our mental health? (June 2020)
A survey of more than 16,000 people during lockdown by the charity Mind has revealed the scale of the impact of the pandemic on people with mental health problems.
Two out of three (65 per cent) adults over 25 and three-quarters (75 per cent) of young people aged 13-24 with an existing mental health problem reported worse mental health. More than one in five adults (22 per cent) with no previous experience of poor mental health now say that their mental health is poor or very poor.
Key Findings:
Of those who tried to access NHS mental health services, one in four (25 per cent were unable to get support. A further one in three adults and more than one in four young people did not try to access support during lockdown because they did not think that their problem was serious enough.
People living in social housing (a proxy for social deprivation) are more likely to have poor mental health and to have seen it get worse during the pandemic. Over half (52 per cent) of people living in social housing said their mental health was poor or very poor, and over two thirds (67 per cent) say that their mental health got worse during lockdown. Similarly, over half (58 per cent) of under-18s who receive free school meals said their mental health was poor or very poor (vs 41 per cent not receiving free school meals), with three quarters (73 per cent) of this group saying that it got worse during lockdown.
Those who were unemployed and seeking work during the pandemic were more likely to have lower wellbeing scores and worse mental health than those who were in employment. Those who were furloughed, changed jobs or lost their job due to coronavirus saw their mental health and wellbeing decline more than those whose employment status didn’t change, with three quarters (73 per cent) reporting lower than average wellbeing scores compared to two thirds (66 per cent) of those whose employment didn’t change.
Mind has announced five key tests for UK Government as part of its recovery plan for mental health: investing in community services; protecting those most at risk and addressing inequalities faced by people from Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic communities; reforming the Mental Health Act; providing a financial safety net through the benefits system; and supporting children and young people.
