Express & Star

Lockdown loneliness a problem as people admit pandemic has affected their wellbeing

Loneliness has been a major problem for people in Black Country and Staffordshire due to the national lockdowns, a study has revealed.

Published

Surveys by the Office for National Statistics [ONS] were carried out on residents across the country, asking if the pandemic had affected their wellbeing.

Half of people in Wolverhampton, 50 per cent, who answered yes to this question, said this was due to "lockdown loneliness"

This was higher than the average figure for Britain, which was 38.6 per cent of the population.

Other areas in the region, which had higher figures than the national average, were Walsall at 39.2 per cent and Stafford at 38.8 per cent.

In Cannock, 28.4 per cent of the population said they were impacted by lockdown loneliness, while in South Staffordshire that figure was 24.6 per cent.

The findings also revealed around one in seven in Sandwell, or 13.6 per cent, felt lonely over the winter period.

That figure was lower in Dudley, where around one in 19 people, or 5.2 per cent, felt lonely.

It has prompted charities to call for mental health and wellbeing to be made a priority in the recovery from Covid-19.

Lucy Schonegevel, associate director for policy and practice at the charity Rethink Mental Illness, said: "The widespread disruption of the pandemic has highlighted that loneliness can be driven not solely by the absence of friends and family, but also the lack of face-to-face connection in the workplace and in the communities around us."

The ONS said young people were more likely to suffer from this form of "lockdown loneliness".

Tom Madders, director of campaigns at mental health charity YoungMinds, added: "It’s important that young people know where to go to get support for their mental health if they are struggling and that they can access help as soon as they need it.

"As we emerge from the pandemic, we’d like the Government to introduce a national network of early intervention hubs, with one in every community, where young people can find mental health support alongside advice on education and employment."

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.