Mental health in the UK's COVID-19 lockdown is a brewing crisis that could cause more damage than the virus itself

• A report from Mind, a mental health charity, reveals that have experienced a worsening in their psychological health during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Young people and women have been hit hardest. University of Bristol research found that anxiety rates had almost doubled in under-29s during the pandemic.
• If the UK government doesn't take drastic action, the crisis could cause damage that lasts longer than the virus itself.
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Against the backdrop of a pandemic inflicting havoc across the United Kingdom, a different health issue — worsened by the coronavirus pandemic — is becoming ever more unsettling: mental health. It was undeniably a wide-scale national problem before the virus's existence, and the abrupt societal suspension of normality has prompted a deterioration in people's mental health. The onus is on the government to resume relative normality as quickly as circumstances allow, in order to avoid a further exacerbation of an already disturbing situation. 

Unaccustomed to life beyond what is considered ordinary, millions of people's mental states have taken a hit since March — my own included. This week's report from Mind, a mental health charity, revealing that more than half of UK adults have experienced a worsening in their psychological health, underlines the lockdown's dangerous side effects. Last fortnight, Nuffield Health found that a startling eight in 10 Brits working from home felt that the lockdown had a "negative impact" on their mental well-being. As somebody who has a mental health condition, I can relate; these sombre figures are of little surprise, but great concern. 

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