Coronavirus lockdown takes heavy toll on Britons’ wellbeing
The coronavirus lockdown is taking a heavy toll on Britons’ mental health, new data has shown, with anxiety and unhappiness hitting record levels as people fret over their finances and are forced to stay indoors.
Nearly half of people aged 16 and over reported high levels of anxiety between 20 and 30 March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), well above the 21 per cent at the end of 2019. Anxiety levels eased somewhat but remained elevated in April.
Financial worries caused people particular stress, the ONS said. More than 6m are concerned about their jobs, while more than 5m are worried about their household finances.
Lucy Tinkler, head of ONS quality of life team, said: “All measures of personal wellbeing, which include anxiety and happiness, are at their worst levels since we began collecting data in 2011.”
Worries over finances were closely linked to a rise in anxiety. Those who are worried about not being able to save money in the next year reported anxiety levels 33 per cent higher on average than those who think they can put cash aside, the ONS said.
The data lays bare the effects of the coronavirus lockdown, which has plunged the UK economy into a deep recession and is stopping people from seeing friends and family.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to unveil a “road map” of Britain’s exit from the lockdown later this week amid rising pressure from some of his own backbenchers and the Labour party.
However, social distancing measures are expected to remain in place for months where possible. For example, the government is expected to say those who can work from home should continue to do so.
Today’s data showed that alongside a marked rise in anxiety, levels of unhappiness rose as lockdown measures were laid out at the end of March.
The proportion of people reporting low levels of happiness was 21 per cent in the period between 20 and 30 March, the ONS said, compared to eight per cent at the end of 2019. Again, this figure improved slightly but remained elevated in April.
Tinkler said that those renting and the self-employed were likely to report higher levels of anxiety and unhappiness.
“The most recent data showed a slight improvement in anxiety compared to previous weeks, but remained much higher than before the pandemic,” she said.