The proportion of adults who are worried about financial matters as a result of the coronavirus pandemic is falling – but there are fears that the number of people developing long-term serious mental health problems could be on the increase.
The latest findings from a major ongoing study involving five UK universities shows that the proportion of UK adults with money worries has fallen from 42% in March to 28% in November.
Since the lockdown in March, the Mental Health Foundation and its university partners have been running a study involving more than 4,000 people looking at loneliness, suicide and how individuals are coping with stress.
Academics from the University of Cambridge, Swansea University, the University of Strathclyde and Queen’s University Belfast are all involved in the study.
A spokesperson for the Mental Health Foundation said that latest results show that despite improvements in some areas over the summer, the longer-term trend is towards “deepening distress”.
The latest wave of research, carried out after the announcement of successful vaccine trials, shows that since March, the extent of loneliness has risen, from 10% of UK adults to 25% in November.
The proportion who say they are “coping well with the stress of the pandemic” has fallen steadily, from almost three quarters (73%) in April to 62% in November.
Reports of having had suicidal thoughts and feelings within the previous two weeks as a result of the pandemic are up from 8% of those surveyed in April to 13% in November.
The Mental Health Foundation spokesperson said that it is not yet clear whether the pandemic will affect suicide rates.
Dr Antonis Kousoulis, director for England and Wales at the Mental Health Foundation, said: “At the beginning of the pandemic, we were very concerned that the longer it went on, the more serious the risks to our mental health would become.
“Unfortunately, this latest data appears to support that fear. It is clear that for millions of people, distress is not going away and on some important measures, problems are getting worse.
“There is no vaccine to protect our mental health against the consequences of the pandemic. Instead, we need to focus on prevention – including tackling the underlying causes of mental ill-health, such as rising unemployment, poverty and social isolation.
“This is why we need a long-term COVID-mental health recovery plan for England now, and full implementation of devolved nations’ mental health recovery plans.”
However, the study also shows that some indicators of people’s distress have plateaued or eased over the course of the pandemic. Feelings of hopelessness were reported by 18% of UK adults surveyed, in both March and November dipping to 15% in August.
Worry about financial matters has fallen, from 42% of UK adults in March to 28% in November.
The proportion of UK adults surveyed who said they felt anxious or worried over the previous two weeks, because of the pandemic, has fallen gradually, from 62% in March to 45% in November.
Professor Tine Van Bortel, from the University of Cambridge and De Montfort University Leicester, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has eroded many of the things that normally protect our mental health – from social connectedness to financial security and hope for the future.
“Prolonged stress and loneliness negatively impact mental health and also contribute significantly towards poor physical health. These issues will become more apparent over time and will cause a huge burden for individuals, communities, health services and economies.
“While the government has produced a policy paper for England on staying mentally well this winter, we need a more long-term strategy to address the mental health effects of the pandemic, as well as implementation of the devolved administrations’ COVID-19 mental health plans.
“Taking a proactive, long-term, preventative approach to poor mental health is the best way to avoid people reaching crisis point and developing longer-term health problems. It is critical that the government takes a comprehensive and inclusive, whole-system wellbeing approach to pandemic recovery.”
The Mental Health Foundation’s report Coronavirus: Mental Health in the Pandemic is available here.