COVID-19 and the lockdown effects on mental health.

[Bletchleyite]

Surely in the latter case that would mean they *are* in the general population, for as long as people are going in and out of care homes?

If most of them are in the homes, then that will need addressing by e.g. finding a way to completely isolate affected homes.

 

[Ianno87]

Surely in the latter case that would mean they *are* in the general population, for as long as people are going in and out of care homes?

I understand Care homes are closed to visitors, so it should only be staff going in and out? I don't know what guidance they are given to follow (if any) when outside of work?

 

[HH]

People in care homes have mental health issues too.

 

[bramling]

If most of them are in the homes, then that will need addressing by e.g. finding a way to completely isolate affected homes.

It has been suggested that some of the care home residents may have picked up C19 in hospital and then been sent back to their care home, so it’s not a given that it’s the staff who have brought it in. But equally there’s the chance for staff to bring it *out*.

One way or other it does seem to be the case there’s a few too many active cases in general circulation than the politicians were hoping for by this point. There’s certainly a case for continuing a bit longer, offering a few olive branches along the way mainly by officially allowing things people have already been doing, and seeing how other countries fare.

 

[Huntergreed]

It has been suggested that some of the care home residents may have picked up C19 in hospital and then been sent back to their care home, so it’s not a given that it’s the staff who have brought it in. But equally there’s the chance for staff to bring it *out*.

One way or other it does seem to be the case there’s a few too many active cases in general circulation than the politicians were hoping for by this point. There’s certainly a case for continuing a bit longer, offering a few olive branches along the way mainly by officially allowing things people have already been doing, and seeing how other countries fare.

I think that one or two more weeks of the current measures would've done it and pushed it down enough. It sounds sadly like pressure is building on BJ to change something by Monday, and it'll be interesting to see whether they decide to stick with their plan or fall to the pressure.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

Unfortunately it's not just the general public who can have this horrible view that people should just get on with it. I've got a friend who has been struggling with their mental health for years, and is having a particularly bad time at the moment, unrelated to lockdown. They got in touch with their mental health team the other day, only to have a nurse tell them that they should just "grin and bear it" until the current situation is over.

"Grin and bear it"???

I'm sorry to hear about your friend and for him or her to be told that really does show a reminder why we feel there's a lack of help out there.

If I've not worded this very well then delete this - just trying to offer my sympathy where I can .

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think that one or two more weeks of the current measures would've done it and pushed it down enough. It sounds sadly like pressure is building on BJ to change something by Monday, and it'll be interesting to see whether they decide to stick with their plan or fall to the pressure.

I think there are things they could loosen without making much difference, e.g. allowing sunbathing, sitting in parks etc.

 

[HH]

I think there are things they could loosen without making much difference, e.g. allowing sunbathing, sitting in parks etc.

Surely people put the mockers on that when they did these things in droves, sat next to each other.

 

[Huntergreed]

I think there are things they could loosen without making much difference, e.g. allowing sunbathing, sitting in parks etc.

The thing is if you allow that, suddenly people will settle near someone and think 'it's just me doing it, it won't make a difference'. If thousands think like that, that could easily increase the spread quite rapidly.

 

[Ianno87]

I think there are things they could loosen without making much difference, e.g. allowing sunbathing, sitting in parks etc.

I personally would find permitting meeting up with nearby family in their own houses would be a big help to many and wouldn't be a big 'hit' on social distancing. Just starts to introduce *some* social normality whilst being hugely helpful to a number of people.

 

[bramling]

I think there are things they could loosen without making much difference, e.g. allowing sunbathing, sitting in parks etc.

I suspect this is what we will see. Then no doubt our TV screens will be filled up with views of a packed beach at somewhere like Brighton or Skegness. Unfortunately people just don’t seem able to snap out of the sheep mentality.

 

[yorkie]

This does not surprise me:

Coronavirus: More worried about boredom, stress and anxiety than general health

The Office for National Statistics asked how coronavirus was affecting people's lives.

www.bbc.co.uk

People in lockdown are more worried about their mental wellbeing than their general health, an Office for National Statistics survey suggests.

Just under two-thirds of 16- to 69-year-olds surveyed were most affected by boredom, stress and anxiety, and the inability to make plans.

And those aged over 70 were even less likely (6%) than the under-70s (13%) to say their overall health was affected....

 

[HH]

I did already post a link to that article 5 and a half hours ago...

 

[Huntergreed]

This does not surprise me:

Coronavirus: More worried about boredom, stress and anxiety than general health

The Office for National Statistics asked how coronavirus was affecting people's lives.

www.bbc.co.uk

I really do wish they would announce daily “mental health/lockdown deaths” as I think this would sadly surprise many people and open people’s eyes to the fact that the world hasn’t stopped turning because a virus has got loose. Until something drastic happens (a huge spike in sad deaths from mental health which I truly truly hope it doesn’t come to) I fear the public will simply disregard the issue. The amount of times I’ve heard of someone being told “just deal with it, at least you haven’t got Covid” is atrocious recently.

 

[alxndr]

"Grin and bear it"???

I'm sorry to hear about your friend and for him or her to be told that really does show a reminder why we feel there's a lack of help out there.

If I've not worded this very well then delete this - just trying to offer my sympathy where I can .

Thank you. Unfortunately it was followed by not getting the promised phonecall, so for them there is scant help available at the moment.

I can't say I'm all that surprised though, from my own experiences. I'm technically still waiting for an appointment that should have been rearranged in 2012! I hope that if we have to deal with this then we can at least learn from it and put a little more focus into improving the mental health provision in our country.

 

[ChrisC]

I personally would find permitting meeting up with nearby family in their own houses would be a big help to many and wouldn't be a big 'hit' on social distancing. Just starts to introduce *some* social normality whilst being hugely helpful to a number of people.

Even less of a problem with social distancing would be to be able to meet up with family members in a garden or out in some other open space. I know it’s important to protect the elderly but for isolated elderly people just to be able to see and speak to their children outdoors from a few metres away would do wonders for their mental health. This would be far less a risk than meeting indoors.

It’s getting increasingly difficult explaining to my 85 year old mother with dementia why she hasn’t seen my sister for 7 weeks and why she still can’t see her. It’s just as much an issue for my mental state as it is for my mother’s. My sister usually looks after my mother for a few days each month to give me a break and a rest but I’ve not had a break now since the beginning of February. I’m really hoping something changes by the end of this month. Like I said just to meet for a couple hours whilst still maintaining social distancing would be a start.

 

[bramling]

I personally would find permitting meeting up with nearby family in their own houses would be a big help to many and wouldn't be a big 'hit' on social distancing. Just starts to introduce *some* social normality whilst being hugely helpful to a number of people.

I'm sure this is already happening. Something has to explain all these cars on the road in the evening. I'm also pretty sure I've seen households in my roads doing it.

 

[Esker-pades]

The one thing that really makes me irate throughout all of this is the people that say 'well we're all in the same boat'.

No. My reply to that is 'we're all in different boats sailing through the same storm'. Some people are coping, other's aren't.

And some people can't afford boats.

I've just finished my first year of a part-time Masters in Transport Engineering & Planning at UWE Bristol. I already had a bit of a wobble over Christmas and changed courses in the new year. Thankfully it was the best decision I made. However, moving forward to now, trying to learn online isn't the same.

For my assignment I needed to use software that was only available on campus in uni. I couldn't work from home. I've submitted a truly shocking assignment, and I'm far from happy because I couldn't use said software, although the university have taken a 'no-detriment' approach to assessments. But, it still doesn't feel right, even though we can have an uncapped resit and all students have automatically been eligible for extenuating circumstances.

My last pieces of uni work have been absolutely atrocious. The combination of COVID-19 and the strikes means I have had no in-person teaching since the 17th of February. The no-detriment policy is useful, but it feels pointless to spend hours getting motivation to write some half-baked rubbish that will be marked with generic feedback and told "yeah, we'll just use your first assignment". Why the heck have I just spent a week on this then?!

I'm furloughed from work so I'm okay financially, but I know others aren't. I've put on almost a stone during this lockdown due to constantly eating with the stress. My mental health is all over the place. My anxiety is through the roof. My sleeping pattern isn't particular great anyway, but it's even worse at the moment, especially given the relatively nice weather we've had which makes sleeping impossible in the night. I miss my boyfriend terribly, and vice versa.

But despite all of my feelings, because I haven't contracted the virus, some people have said to me that my opinions and values are worth northing, and that I should just 'get over it'. I understand that some are at high risk, and 30,000 people have died. I get it. But comments/opinions like that, to me, are absolutely abhorrent to my principles.

It's really not fun. I've noticed that I'm entering another cluster of whatever, which is going to be fun. There also seems to be a lot of same boat style responses (IE: "yeah, we're all having a difficult time"). *Sigh*

Sorry that I've mainly gone "yeah, same". PM me if you need/want.

 

[HH]

I'm sure this is already happening. Something has to explain all these cars on the road in the evening. I'm also pretty sure I've seen households in my roads doing it.

Oh it's very definitely happening. Just about everyone is pushing the boundaries now "a little bit". I think the government know and the "easing" to be announced Sunday will mostly legitimise the status quo.

 

[Ianno87]

Oh it's very definitely happening. Just about everyone is pushing the boundaries now "a little bit". I think the government know and the "easing" to be announced Sunday will mostly legitimise the status quo.

Which is kind of good.

Gives the people who were already taking the piss absolutely nothing more, whilst easing it for those who were following the rules.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Mental health is definately on the downslide. Nobody is immune. I heard a family across the road have a right barny; lasted about 45mins. It sounded like they were close to killing one another

Like many, I'm not a stay-at-home person. This whole thing is affecting me too and I would like to apologise if I've offended anyone on here.

The sooner some restrictions can be lifted, the better

 

[Huntergreed]

It doesn’t help when the media is all focused on England getting out on Monday when in Scotland we’ve been told we’re stuck in. It’s like a daily reminder of what we could have but won’t get even though our English counterparts will. I think that might cause further deterioration of mental health in regions where restrictions are lifted later across the country but I sadly doubt the government will think of this over suppressing the virus.

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

Mental health is definately on the downslide. Nobody is immune. I heard a family across the road have a right barny; lasted about 45mins. It sounded like they were close to killing one another

Like many, I'm not a stay-at-home person. This whole thing is affecting me too and I would like to apologise if I've offended anyone on here.

The sooner some restrictions can be lifted, the better

You don't have to apologise - you've not offended me one bit. I'm feeling the pain too .

 

[yorksrob]

It doesn’t help when the media is all focused on England getting out on Monday when in Scotland we’ve been told we’re stuck in. It’s like a daily reminder of what we could have but won’t get even though our English counterparts will. I think that might cause further deterioration of mental health in regions where restrictions are lifted later across the country but I sadly doubt the government will think of this over suppressing the virus.

Well, I'm not counting on much in England to be honest. Dropping the "stay home" message is going to be fairly meaningless if you can't go anywhere or see anyone.

 

[ValleyLines142]

And some people can't afford boats.


My last pieces of uni work have been absolutely atrocious. The combination of COVID-19 and the strikes means I have had no in-person teaching since the 17th of February. The no-detriment policy is useful, but it feels pointless to spend hours getting motivation to write some half-baked rubbish that will be marked with generic feedback and told "yeah, we'll just use your first assignment". Why the heck have I just spent a week on this then?!


It's really not fun. I've noticed that I'm entering another cluster of whatever, which is going to be fun. There also seems to be a lot of same boat style responses (IE: "yeah, we're all having a difficult time"). *Sigh*

Sorry that I've mainly gone "yeah, same". PM me if you need/want.

It is a joke.

Thanks mate - same to you!

 

[Carlisle]

Well, I'm not counting on much in England to be honest. Dropping the "stay home" message is going to be fairly meaningless if you can't go anywhere or see anyone.

Absolutely, other than possibly your local garden centre .

 

[HH]

Many on here write as if mental wellbeing is only a problem for the young. This is completely false. As MHA say:

• Loneliness and low mental wellbeing is a problem for many older people:
  • 24% of people aged over 60 stated they felt lonely sometimes or often; this equates to just over 3 million people in the UK population (source: English Longitudinal Study of Ageing).
  • A survey carried out for Age UK in 2017 revealed that nearly half of adults (7.7million) aged 55+ said they had experienced depression and around the same number (7.3 million) have suffered with anxiety.

 

[Ianno87]

Many on here write as if mental wellbeing is only a problem for the young. This is completely false. As MHA say:

My dear departed great auntie suffered quite severely in her 80s, basically from lomeliness. Manifested itself in quite a severe consumption of alcohol that took far too long for anyone to notice.

 

[yorksrob]

Absolutely, other than possibly your local garden centre .

Indeed. Although I know some people who would quite like a trip to the garden centre

 

[HH]

On this particular day, given some of the opinions about the elderly that have been expressed recently on this forum, I'd like to share this FB page.

From an additional comment:

There are people now worried about their jobs after a month of quarantine. Perhaps remembering a period of two years when the British were being bombed at night, having their sons taken away by the forces, food was strictly rationed, and they read about defeats by day, might help to put this in perspective.