Covid has put the UK in the grip of psychological crisis with the numbers suffering from distress twice as high as they were before the pandemic, a government-backed study shows.
Between 50 and 60 per cent of women and 40 and 50 per cent of men in England were reporting signs of psychological distress from April 2020 to April 2022 – with that proportion unlikely to have significantly dropped given its stability throughout the pandemic, researchers said.
This is compared to 25 to 30 per cent of women and 20 to 25 per cent of men prior to the pandemic – with the figures for England believed to be reflective of the UK as a whole, according to the latest findings of the The Covid-19 Rapid Survey of Adherence to Interventions and Responses (CORSAIR) study, led by University College London and King’s College London.
Symptoms of pandemic anxiety include uncontrollable worrying, little interest or pleasure in activities and feeling depressed or anxious.
More than half those affected during the study had already been, or were likely to be, diagnosed with clinical anxiety and/or clinical depression by a doctor, with the remainder suffering milder symptoms which nonetheless impacted on their quality of life.
“I was surprised by these findings – by the magnitude of the increase in psychological stress, the length of time it has held up and by how little it changed at any point in the pandemic. I had expected it would go up and down more,” said Professor Henry Potts, of University College London.
Although he doesn’t know what has happened since April, in the absence of new data, he said “it is very possible that the levels are still high now” and could go on for some time given how stable and elevated they have been for the past two years.
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The research is important because it shows just how long lasting the mental health toll of the pandemic has been on the nation’s mental health, Professor Potts said.
Furthermore, it shows that while lockdowns and restrictions will have played a role, other factors seem to be more significant – since the ending of all legal restrictions in February didn’t have much of an impact on the nation’s stress and anxiety, just as the the lifting of various lockdowns over the previous two years didn’t either, he said.
“Some politicians and commentators have concluded that mental health problems are a result of lockdowns. However, our research shows that there is not a simple relationship between the two,” Professor Potts said.
Instead, factors such as catching Covid, fear and anxiety about becoming infected, loss of employment, reduced income and disrupted education are likely to have played the larger role.
He said: “The consequences of the pandemic may not simply disappear. Just because restrictions have ended you still don’t have your job. And I know people whose relationships broke down during the course of the pandemic and obviously they’re still dealing with the consequences. There could be a variety of factors here.
“People with long Covid could well have poorer mental health. And we know that poor health can contribute to poor mental health and – and that there are longer NHS waiting lists because of the impact of the pandemic.”
Louise Smith, of King’s College London, added: “The Covid-19 pandemic had a lasting impact on people’s psychological distress and wellbeing, with distress remaining notably higher than the pre-pandemic norm in April 2022. It is important that people receive the help they need to support their mental wellbeing.”
Stephen Buckley, head of information at the Mind mental health charity, which was not involved in the study, said: “This study shows a sharp rise in the number of people facing feelings of distress in the last two years. Many of us found the pandemic difficult to cope with for different reasons – including fears about getting sick, feeling lonely during lockdowns, concerns about finances and uncertainty about the future.
“Although the entire nation was affected by Covid-19, certain groups were disproportionately impacted, including people experiencing poverty, from different communities and young people. … Covid-19 is still affecting lives even despite the lifting of pandemic safety measures, the nation’s mental health shows little sign of improving.”
Mubeen Bhutta, head of policy, public affairs and campaigns at Samaritans, added: “There’s no doubt that the pandemic has had a profound impact on the nation’s mental health and wellbeing, as these new insights demonstrate.
“Isolation and loneliness, financial worries and relationship issues are just some of the concerns that our volunteers have been hearing about from callers to our helpline.
“We are yet to understand the full picture but we are concerned about the long-term impact of the pandemic. Additionally, as there is strong evidence of associations between financial difficulties, mental health and suicide, these challenges look set to continue with the rising cost of living.”
The study was backed by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), a government funding body.
The findings were published in Journal of Psychiatric Research and examined data collected from online surveys of more than 41,000 participants over the age of 16 years from April 2020 to April 2022.
The signs of psychological distress as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire 4, a widely used tool for screening anxiety and depression.
A government spokesperson said: “We know the pandemic has had a significant impact on people’s mental health and we are improving mental health services which will see over £2.3 billion of additional funding a year by 2024 – helping an extra two million people across England access services.
“Last year we published the Mental Health Recovery Action Plan, backed by an additional £500 million to ensure the right support was in place for those impacted by the pandemic.”
