New initiative sheds light on Britain’s growing crisis.
Calls to Mind’s helpline have doubled and urgent referrals of people with mental health problems have shot up 15% since March 2020.
To raise awareness of the country’s mental health crisis caused by the pandemic, The Telegraph has launched a campaign called ‘Mental Health Emergency’.
Part of the initiative includes sharing the stories of readers who have struggled over the past months, the change to work life and how to protect yourself and what it is like being a new parent during the pandemic.
Feature writer and columnist Bryony Gordon wrote a great piece on why this matters, writing that “it is, of course, absolutely crucial that we socially distance to save lives from Covid-19. But in the process, we also must not sacrifice the many hundreds of thousands of people who are currently experiencing mental health issues – all the statistics show the detrimental effect that lockdowns are having on people’s well-being.”
She added: “During these dark days of lockdown, the Government should not be asking people to turn on each other. Instead, they should be letting us know what support exists to help us get through them.”
