I have posted before about how young adults, and especially young women, are prone to common mental health disorders; and while the Covid19 pandemic has worsened metal health in general, its biggest impact has been on young women.
Before going on, I remind any of you… young or old, of whatever gender… that if you are experiencing difficulties with anxiety or low mood then please try our Rezl app for free – it includes an Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) programme that is shown to build reliance… and on average, to be as effective than medication for reducing anxiety, depression and stress symptoms. Just click here to try Rezl for free.
Recently I spotted that University College London had released a report examining the mental health of over 18,000 people aged between 19 and 62 during the lockdown. Here.
The report shows that:
- Women were more likely than men to be experiencing mental health issues across all ages.
- During lockdown: Young women are the most likely group to have suffered high levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness – 19-year-olds were the most likely to be experiencing poor mental health – with 30-year-olds being the second most likely group to endure this.
- Just over one third of 19-year-old women were suffering from symptoms of depression, compared with just under one quarter of men of the same age. 45% of 19-year-old women and 42% of 19-year-old men had felt lonely during this time.
- Just over one third of women all and one quarter of men all were feeling lonely.
- Only 7% of 62-year-old men and 10% of 62-year-old women cited symptoms of depression.
Dr Praveetha Patalay, the report author, said: “Our findings clearly show the high levels of difficulties being experienced by young people aged 19 and 30, especially young women. More needs to be done to support these age groups and to limit the impact of the pandemic on their future health and wellbeing.”
You can read the full story from the Independent here:
The Independent suggests that “The new research comes as councils in England are failing to urgently invest in mental health and other crucial local services will weaken attempts to help the UK get back on track after the coronavirus outbreak. In a joint report with the Centre for Mental Health, it says mental health issues cost UK employers £35 billion a year due to sickness absence, lessened productivity and employee turnover.”
Again I have written about he very “judge world” that today’s young women inhabit (here).
Maybe more should be done to build resilience and to promote objectivity in young women at an earlier age.