#TimetoTalkDay: Third of people in South West seen mental health suffer during pandemic
There's also been an increase in children needing support from Wiltshire's CCG
A survey, commissioned by mental health charity Time to Change, asked 4,700 adults across the country how their wellbeing's been affected by the pandemic.
36% of people in the South West said they had felt the need to take some time off work, school or university because of a mental health problem in the last year.
But only 15% actually did so.
The charity's released the figures on Time to Talk Day (Thursday 4th February), encouraging us to seek support if we need it, and reach out to friends, family and colleagues.
1 in 5 people surveyed in the South West said they'd found they had fewer people to talk to about mental health concerns since the pandemic began.
Some of the reasons for that included worrying about other people's problems, not being able to meet face-to-face and working from home preventing opportunities for a catch-up.
This year's Time to Talk Day has the theme of 'The Power of Small', reminding us of the big difference that a small conversation or gesture can make to someone else.
Jo Loughran, Director of Time to Change, said:
"We know that attitudes towards those of us with mental health problems have improved in recent years and it's important that we don't let that slide. The last year has been hard and it's perhaps made more people realise that we can all struggle with our mental health at times. Let's take this opportunity to ensure that we all feel comfortable talking about it, too.
"It's easy to think we haven't got the power to make a change. But lots of 'small' conversations can add up to a big difference in tackling the stigma and discrimination too many people still experience because of their mental health. So, this Time to Talk Day, play your part - send a text, reach out, have a conversation."
ABBIE'S STORY
24 year old Abbie Brewer from Wiltshire has been speaking about her experiences.
She says she delayed taking time off work to look after her mental health, because she was scared of being judged:
"When the first lockdown started I felt trapped, and not being able to see my friends really impacted my mental health. I felt selfish for feeling so low, because I knew some people were worse off.
"I was working every hour I could, trying to fill up my time so I'd feel like I was 'coping'. I ended up being sent home from work on a few occasions, as I was visibly anxious, but I still didn't feel like I could call in sick.
"I felt weak, because people seemed to be coping. I thought, 'if they're coping, why am I not?'. I continued working through my anxiety until I finally bubbled over. In the end my workplace suggested I should take some time off. If I wasn't so scared of judgment - from others and of myself - I would have taken time off before things got so bad."
CHILDREN AFFECTED TOO
New figures from NHS Digital show how more young people in Wiltshire have needed mental health support too.
In 2019-20, the county's Clinical Commissioning Group had 4,430 under 18s referred to their services.
That's an 27% increase on the year before - but the waiting time for support has fallen from an average of 47 days, down to 30 days.
England's Children's Commissioner, Anne Longfield, is calling on the Government to bring in an NHS funded counsellor for every school, due to concerns that rising numbers of children needing support means potentially thousands of young people could be missing out on the help they require:
"Even before the Covid pandemic, we faced an epidemic of children’s mental health problems in England and a children’s mental health service that, though improving significantly, was still unable to provide the help hundreds of thousands of children required.
"The Government's plans must include a rocket boost in funding for children's mental health, to expand services and eliminate the postcode lottery.
"As an absolute minimum, all schools should be provided with an NHS-funded counsellor, either in school or online."