48% (!) say the pandemic negatively affected their wellbeing
- Thread starter bimble
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DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
48/52 strikes again
platinumsage
HaveMyPassword123
Usually the reason behind these sorts of survey headlines become obvious once you read the actual survey and the questions people were asked.
baldrick
hmmmmm
It's a bit mad isn't it. I was in a really good position all the way through - good job, could wfh during lockdowns (though worked in a school so this was periodic), lots of room in the house, no kids to home school, came out with more savings than at the start and it still had a negative effect on me. Physically and mentally.
I literally have NO idea how some people coped. Obviously the dead ones haven't been asked, that would account for a fair few %.
I literally have NO idea how some people coped. Obviously the dead ones haven't been asked, that would account for a fair few %.
LDC
On est tous des pangolins
Wellbeing - urgh. And because it's not research, it'll be some shit small sample questions to give them some advertising friendly copy.
Bet the skills to cope involve giving them money if you're OK, and downloading an app if you're not.
I would be in the 52%, I don't think it's impacted me negatively overall, and I know plenty of people that would say the same tbh.
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farmerbarleymow
I'm Petee's spirit animal
I've enjoyed it, especially during the strict lockdowns when it was lovely and quiet. Not going out for two years has been glorious.
RainbowTown
Well-Known Member
Me too. There were moments of some negativity and stress, of course, like there was/is for everyone. And obviously everyone's personal situation and circumstances are different. Not one size fits all. But over the two year period till now, I'd say my 'wellbeing' as they put it, has not been impacted upon greatly whatsoever. And that goes for the majority of people that I know.
That's not, of course, to minimize those who have suffered greatly. Of course not. It's just been my own experience and those who've been around me. The stats of 48% don't honestly surprise me tbh.
surreybrowncap
“Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand"
Safe from swooping gulls too
Riklet
procrastinación
People may have very different ideas about what "affected their wellbeing" means. This is a very broad term.
Some of my family and friends think theyve had just as hard a time as me due to lockdown etc (WFH, disrupted routine, less socialising, nowt to do, boo hoo
) despite me getting covid and spending 3 months sick by myself and still being ill with long covid. I do try not to feel resentful about this because of exactly what I said in my first sentence.
Some of my family and friends think theyve had just as hard a time as me due to lockdown etc (WFH, disrupted routine, less socialising, nowt to do, boo hoo
) despite me getting covid and spending 3 months sick by myself and still being ill with long covid. I do try not to feel resentful about this because of exactly what I said in my first sentence.
bimble
floofy
Me too tbh. But never would have guessed that 52% of the population were weirdo recluses like us.
Lord Camomile
Yipchaa!
It would be a hard one for me to answer, as I've been fairly lucky in that my pandemic situation largely suited my general preferences (living alone, didn't have to interact with lots of people).
However, the general trends of the national and international reaction, and the suffering that it's all caused, has left me seriously pissed off, bitter and depressed, and frankly pretty fucking hopeless at times.
So, where does that sit in their "negatively affected by wellbeing" stats?
As others have said, just what exactly people were asked is crucial to something like this.
However, the general trends of the national and international reaction, and the suffering that it's all caused, has left me seriously pissed off, bitter and depressed, and frankly pretty fucking hopeless at times.
So, where does that sit in their "negatively affected by wellbeing" stats?
As others have said, just what exactly people were asked is crucial to something like this.
bimble
floofy
Even though lockdowns were absolutely fine for me personally (there's lots i enjoyed about them cos of living where i do) i'd still say that the global pandemic "negatively affected my wellbeing" no question. Main bad things were worry about my parents, friends who had major shit to deal with around losing jobs & money and the horrible process of estrangement from loads of people who revealed themselves to be conspiracist loons.
Agree it was probably not a question as simply put as it seems from that poster but still weird, majority coming out as no.
Agree it was probably not a question as simply put as it seems from that poster but still weird, majority coming out as no.
elbows
Well-Known Member
If we assume that the 48% figure comes from the following ONS study, then note that it reported in December 2020, so wouldnt have included the impact of the heavy winter lockdown that many people found especially difficult to cope with a year+ ago:
Coronavirus and the social impacts on Great Britain - Office for National Statistics
The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on people, households and communities in Great Britain from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey.
www.ons.gov.uk
- Almost half of adults (48%) reported that their well-being was being affected by the pandemic; this increased to 81% for those who had experienced some form of depression and/or some form of anxiety.
elbows
Well-Known Member
I should probably say that I dont think I looked for any subsequent studies, and my comments about how hard people found that winter lockdown are largely based on numerous posts from the period in question on this forum.
Negative feelings in the first wave/first lockdown were probably affected by the fact there was some renewed sense of community, people pulling together, applauding the NHS, finding ways to help others via food deliveries, trying to look on the bright side, and the enormity and shock value of what happened the first time around probably had an impact too. Plus plenty of people might not have realised how long the pandemic was going to drag on for, or hoped that the right lessons would be learnt and that we could have avoided a subsequent massive wave of death, delays to sensible measures, etc. A sense of hopeless inevitability, defeatism, division and anger likely increased once we were past that first wave and its restrictions.
Negative feelings in the first wave/first lockdown were probably affected by the fact there was some renewed sense of community, people pulling together, applauding the NHS, finding ways to help others via food deliveries, trying to look on the bright side, and the enormity and shock value of what happened the first time around probably had an impact too. Plus plenty of people might not have realised how long the pandemic was going to drag on for, or hoped that the right lessons would be learnt and that we could have avoided a subsequent massive wave of death, delays to sensible measures, etc. A sense of hopeless inevitability, defeatism, division and anger likely increased once we were past that first wave and its restrictions.
NoXion
Craicy the Squirrel
The 48% figure is from an August 2021 Opinium poll. It's right there in the picture?
bimble
floofy
Most up to date one of those is here:
From this it looks like people have been relatively consistent through the whole thing, in the way they reply to the questions:
Coronavirus and the social impacts on Great Britain - Office for National Statistics
Indicators from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey covering the period 19 to 30 January 2022 to understand the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on people, households and communities in Great Britain.
www.ons.gov.uk
From this it looks like people have been relatively consistent through the whole thing, in the way they reply to the questions:
elbows
Well-Known Member
Ah I couldnt read that bit clearly, cheers for pointing it out. Its funny that its the same number the ONS came up with previously.
I suppose dont place all that much weight in such measurements.
What does strike me as likely is that over time we will hear a lot more about all the other impacts the padnemic and the necessary response to it have had. There will be all sorts of nightmare figures about the effect on cancer treatments for years to come. There has been all sorts of mental health impacts that are showing up in all sorts of data.
Just to give one example, have a little search on the internet for the rise in cases of tourettes syndrone and other tic disorders that have been presenting themselves in the pandemic. Young women are often going to feature in these sorts of phenomenon. I pick on this one because I stumbled upon it by accident some weeks ago, and because its easier to highlight specific forms of problems beyond the much more general descriptions of mental health problems, issues that are exasperated by stress etc.
I suppose dont place all that much weight in such measurements.
What does strike me as likely is that over time we will hear a lot more about all the other impacts the padnemic and the necessary response to it have had. There will be all sorts of nightmare figures about the effect on cancer treatments for years to come. There has been all sorts of mental health impacts that are showing up in all sorts of data.
Just to give one example, have a little search on the internet for the rise in cases of tourettes syndrone and other tic disorders that have been presenting themselves in the pandemic. Young women are often going to feature in these sorts of phenomenon. I pick on this one because I stumbled upon it by accident some weeks ago, and because its easier to highlight specific forms of problems beyond the much more general descriptions of mental health problems, issues that are exasperated by stress etc.
Cloo
Banana for scale
People are surprisingly adaptable, so I can believe it... not that there's anything wrong or weak about it affecting people's wellbeing. I had my tough moments in it, but overall my wellbeing has been OK, but that's because I'm one of those people who's been in a better boat than most in this storm. Not low-income, not CEV, not living alone, career unaffected, spacious home, near family, older kids etc.
But yes, we will hear more about the effects over time. It's notable that several friends, for example, have experienced adolescent kids (both male and female) suffering severe eating disorders, to the extent of requiring hospitalisation and have been told by doctors they've seen a massive surge of them in that age group. And hardly surprising - the cohort that changed schools in this, spent months isolated from friends old and new and eating disorders became a way of desperately trying to control their world.
But yes, we will hear more about the effects over time. It's notable that several friends, for example, have experienced adolescent kids (both male and female) suffering severe eating disorders, to the extent of requiring hospitalisation and have been told by doctors they've seen a massive surge of them in that age group. And hardly surprising - the cohort that changed schools in this, spent months isolated from friends old and new and eating disorders became a way of desperately trying to control their world.
MickiQ
In My Defence I was left Unsupervised
There have been no long term negatives for us, it was a something of a major drag whilst it was going on, Son Q and his G/F lost their house and a couple of grand and had to stay with us for a year and a half but they've got one now. Youngest Q had to delay going Uni for a year and essentially had a gap year at home but she found a job when restrictions were partly lifted and is now off studying. Life was delayed not derailed.
No-one I care about died even though plenty got sick and I didn't have any money concerns.
People have lost family, friends, homes, businesses and jobs, The worst I suffered was being forced to stay home (in a nice house with a garden) and work from the spare bedroom whilst binging Netflix every evening.
I have a very honest view of the fact that I live a privileged life compared to most people in the world and even much of the population of this country.
So no I'm certainly not going to complain I've had a hard time of it since I know full well I haven't.
No-one I care about died even though plenty got sick and I didn't have any money concerns.
People have lost family, friends, homes, businesses and jobs, The worst I suffered was being forced to stay home (in a nice house with a garden) and work from the spare bedroom whilst binging Netflix every evening.
I have a very honest view of the fact that I live a privileged life compared to most people in the world and even much of the population of this country.
So no I'm certainly not going to complain I've had a hard time of it since I know full well I haven't.
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
You could just slap a copper and get several more months inside, accommodation and meals provided gratis
Women have clearly borne the brunt of this - care workers, healthcare workers, teachers, mothers (having to look after and educate children while working), new mothers giving birth alone without partners, isolation post-birth, carers for elderly parents - as well as children and young people whose world was turned upside down. The waiting list for CAMHS in my trust is 12 months longer than it was at the start of the pandemic.
Agent Sparrow
the age of slippers and migraines
3 years minimum for an Autism assessment on one of the places I routinely refer to
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
In terms of housing, work and immediate [close] friends I haven't done too badly over the past two years.
Overall, my well-being probably hasn't been adversely affected by the pandemic, but two factors have badly affected me. [one work-related, the other is the situation with a close friend, actually lives in my house]
For a major positive - I own my house outright, and I have a seriously large garden which I'm still restoring.
Plenty of wildlife to watch and sometimes there has been sunshine to sit in ...
As the boss of my own company, I find WFH to be the most effective way of dealing with the admin burden, even more so during the past two years.
However, there's a personality clash & associated problem I'm trying to deal with, this is seriously stressful for me. If it hadn't been for covid & WFH I would have found out about it & dealt with it much earlier. So that's a bad affect which cancels out the benefits of WFH.
However, a number of people in my wider circle of friends have died, about were 50% covid-related, the others were mainly Cancer-related.
Unfortunately, one of my best mates has become almost paranoid about the risks of catching covid. Despite the vaccines & the drug treatments that have been discovered, they seem convinced if they catch it, they are going to be seriously ill and probably die. Which was not helped by discovering just how transmissible Omicron is and the huge number of daily cases.
They are also very angry at what they see as the callousness of government policies in terms of dealing with covid, specifically the number of deaths.
Dealing with that person, on a daily basis, has been extremely stressful, to the point I do not know if I can cope with another tantrum about me doing something they deem "risky" - which happens about every two to three weeks. Every time, all the past situations - real or imagined - are dragged up & rehashed, repeatedly. [they will not go to the doctor about it, have tried that suggestion several times]
Overall, my well-being probably hasn't been adversely affected by the pandemic, but two factors have badly affected me. [one work-related, the other is the situation with a close friend, actually lives in my house]
For a major positive - I own my house outright, and I have a seriously large garden which I'm still restoring.
Plenty of wildlife to watch and sometimes there has been sunshine to sit in ...
As the boss of my own company, I find WFH to be the most effective way of dealing with the admin burden, even more so during the past two years.
However, there's a personality clash & associated problem I'm trying to deal with, this is seriously stressful for me. If it hadn't been for covid & WFH I would have found out about it & dealt with it much earlier. So that's a bad affect which cancels out the benefits of WFH.
However, a number of people in my wider circle of friends have died, about were 50% covid-related, the others were mainly Cancer-related.
Unfortunately, one of my best mates has become almost paranoid about the risks of catching covid. Despite the vaccines & the drug treatments that have been discovered, they seem convinced if they catch it, they are going to be seriously ill and probably die. Which was not helped by discovering just how transmissible Omicron is and the huge number of daily cases.
They are also very angry at what they see as the callousness of government policies in terms of dealing with covid, specifically the number of deaths.
Dealing with that person, on a daily basis, has been extremely stressful, to the point I do not know if I can cope with another tantrum about me doing something they deem "risky" - which happens about every two to three weeks. Every time, all the past situations - real or imagined - are dragged up & rehashed, repeatedly. [they will not go to the doctor about it, have tried that suggestion several times]
Agent Sparrow
the age of slippers and migraines
Regarding the original study, a few thoughts spring to mind.
First is there are studies that suggest people might be fairly stable in their level of happiness, worry etc. So whilst everyone would have had ups and downs, unless they had life changing experiences (trauma, untimely bereavement, poverty, abuse etc), people may have, overall, kept coming back to their baseline over the total pandemic period. Some people might have found that despite having life changing experiences. Iirc there’s an interesting study looking I think at cancer diagnoses (or not cancer reprieves), where people were asked to predict how they’d feel 3 months after either good or bad news, and the reality was not as sad or happy as they predicted.
Secondly as has already been touched on, different people have different criteria for judging their well-being or hardships.
Thirdly there definitely were some individuals who found some aspect of the lockdown to be positively healing, for various reasons. And I’m sure there are some now who have come out “counting their blessings” after such a difficult two years.
Fourthly, and this is where my thoughts aren’t so clear so apologies if it doesn’t quite make sense, but there are people who will have adjusted their sense of what good well-being is in the context of such challenging times. So perceived well-being might not just differ between individuals but also within the same one in different contexts. Some will have found it tough but also found meaning in the difficulties.
And lastly, memory is not that great and, like childbirth, some people will have just forgotten the hardest times. I think I have.
Those are all very individualistic reasons that don’t really touch on wider family or societal factors. I suspect those who felt we were “all in it together” probably managed better too, certainly better than those who thought it was all a conspiracy.
First is there are studies that suggest people might be fairly stable in their level of happiness, worry etc. So whilst everyone would have had ups and downs, unless they had life changing experiences (trauma, untimely bereavement, poverty, abuse etc), people may have, overall, kept coming back to their baseline over the total pandemic period. Some people might have found that despite having life changing experiences. Iirc there’s an interesting study looking I think at cancer diagnoses (or not cancer reprieves), where people were asked to predict how they’d feel 3 months after either good or bad news, and the reality was not as sad or happy as they predicted.
Secondly as has already been touched on, different people have different criteria for judging their well-being or hardships.
Thirdly there definitely were some individuals who found some aspect of the lockdown to be positively healing, for various reasons. And I’m sure there are some now who have come out “counting their blessings” after such a difficult two years.
Fourthly, and this is where my thoughts aren’t so clear so apologies if it doesn’t quite make sense, but there are people who will have adjusted their sense of what good well-being is in the context of such challenging times. So perceived well-being might not just differ between individuals but also within the same one in different contexts. Some will have found it tough but also found meaning in the difficulties.
And lastly, memory is not that great and, like childbirth, some people will have just forgotten the hardest times. I think I have.
Those are all very individualistic reasons that don’t really touch on wider family or societal factors. I suspect those who felt we were “all in it together” probably managed better too, certainly better than those who thought it was all a conspiracy.
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
I think the strategy here is to wait until people fall off the waiting lists simply by getting too old to access the service
We were doing mental health week at my school this week. It involved letting the kids wear hats to school for a day. Also there was an opportunity to do some colouring on Tuesday lunchtime. So that's that sorted then.
SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
In terms of my personal circumstances, I've had far worse years than either of the last two. I generally drag myself through just about anything in a relatively steady state of moderate happiness; with strong threads of pessimism, superficial grumpiness, nihilism and a broad acceptance of mindless fate.
I'd be the first to admit I've been luckier than many through this whole thing. I still have all my loved ones. I lost a home and a job but was able to find new ones. The biggest impact for me has been the kind of stuff I see working with kids, who have had a huge chunk of their lives taken away and who will live with the consequences of that, in a thousand unknowable ways, forever. Their kids will live with it. As always, the heaviest loads are given to those least able to bear them.
I think the strategy here is to wait until people fall off the waiting lists simply by getting too old to access the service
We were doing mental health week at my school this week. It involved letting the kids wear hats to school for a day. Also there was an opportunity to do some colouring on Tuesday lunchtime. So that's that sorted then.
I don't think the medicalising of everything is helpful either, it contributes to mental health crises, but there has been no space for them to think collectively about the effects of covid in their life, their worries, disappointment, grief or anger and resentment that they gave up so much for others and haven't been thanked for it.
BigMoaner
What A Load of Old Bollocks
Would have been even more fucked if not for my support system and the furlough. It was a tough time, freshly separated by infidelity my life had turned upside down and I was completely and utterly traumatised. Couldn’t barely eat for weeks. Then COVID struck.
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