Covid, five years on
An independent survey has found that over 82% of people aged between 18-26 still feel the effects of the Covid-19 lockdowns, five years later.
This time five years ago, the world went into lockdown to prevent the spread of the infectious respiratory disease Coronavirus. This meant that the British public would be housebound until the Coronavirus pandemic was under control, but being allowed to go on one walk a day and leave the house to buy essentials like food and medicine. Whilst this helped keep infected figures low, the impact that the complete separation of friends and family had on the public’s mental health was profound. In an independent survey, statistics showed that 82% of 18–26-year-olds still feel the impact the lockdowns had on their mental health, despite it being half a decade ago.
Archna, aged 18 at the time of the pandemic, said: “Three of my family members died, and because of the restrictions, I never got to say my final goodbyes. It still feels surreal, it feels like I still haven’t really processed it.”
She went on to say: “I feel like I wasted years of my life, and I still really feel that today, five years on. I’m 23 years old now and I feel like I’m still 19.”
With the death toll sitting at over 200,000, many people across the United Kingdom experienced grief. According to Sue Ryder, a charity for bereavement and grief found that over half of those who experienced loss during lockdown felt as though their loved one's death was viewed as ‘just a statistic’.
Another young person, who wished to remain anonymous, explained: “I was already dealing with anxiety issues, depression, suicidal ideation and alcohol dependency when the first lockdowns came into effect. Five years on from the beginning of the lockdown, I am recovering from the psychological wounds I gained from this period.”
According to YoungMinds, a mental health charity, by the summer of 2020, out of the 2,036 young people surveyed, 80% of those agreed that their mental health had gotten ‘much worse’ since the pandemic began.
Though not all negative,19-year-old Ollie, a politics student at the University of Liverpool said: “I definitely think people became much more interested in politics because of lockdown. I had to knowledge of anything about it really until the daily briefings in Downing Street. I now study politics, so that really could’ve just been me but lots of people who also do my course say the same thing.”
Soph explained that it “made me think more about my mental health as I had time to sit and reflect and came to the conclusion that I may have ADHD. Five years later, I’m now diagnosed.” According to the National Institute of Health, there was a surge in ADHD diagnoses, particularly amongst women and girls due to the amount of time spent away from the workplace and education, allowed time for reflection and a chance to ‘unmask’, meaning that symptoms became more obvious and more uncomfortable to deal with once the world reponed.