By Coronavirus money worries drive surge in anxiety
According to figures issued by the Office for National Statistics, nearly half of all Britons have reported experiencing a surge in their anxiety levels as the country entered coronavirus lockdown, with 2.6 million people saying this is due to money worries.
Anxiety levels were highest among an estimated 8.6 million people whose income fell, according to the weekly survey on the impact of coronavirus.
Renters and the self-employed were also particularly affected.
Measures of well-being were at their lowest levels since records began in 2011, the Office of National Statistics said.
The survey suggested that more than 25 million people rated their anxiety as “high”, more than double the amount who did so at the end of 2019. 2.6 million also said they were struggling to pay their bills.
8.6 million people are reported to have seen their income fall since Britain entered lockdown, with this group reporting anxiety levels 16% higher than average.
Some people have reported that their landlords had issued notices in preparation for when evictions might resume in June.
Others claimed that their employers are preparing to make them redundant once the furlough period is over.
Lucy Tinkler, head of the quality of life team at the ONS, said:
“All measures of personal well-being, which include anxiety and happiness, are at their worst levels since we began collecting data in 2011.”
“The most recent data showed a slight improvement in anxiety compared to previous weeks, but remained much higher than before the pandemic.”
Statistics show that the average reported anxiety level rose from 2.97 out of 10 at the end of 2019 to 5.18 at the end of March as the lockdown was beginning.
Although, in the most recent survey, from 9 April to 20 April, that fell slightly to 4.2.
Lucretia Thomas, a project adviser at Citizens Advice Enfield, said it had had a “spike” in people asking for advice about employment, benefits and debt issues as the pandemic prevented many people from working.
“The loss of income has really had a devastating effect on families, because their normal household expenses have increased,” she said, explaining that families were often missing out on free school meals.
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