More than 16,000 of you told us how the pandemic has affected your mental health. Many of you are experiencing problems for the first time and those of you who were already struggling are finding things even harder. We’ve also seen rates of depression double and a dramatic increase in those of you accessing crisis services. The findings are clear. Prioritising mental health has never been more critical.
Our health and social care services are and will continue to be under pressure like never before. The devasting loss of life, the impact of lockdowns, and the deepening recession will have an impact on our mental health into the future.
Whether we see more local lockdowns, more national lockdowns or finally begin to recover, it is vital that the government puts the mental health impact of the pandemic at the heart of its plans.
We know that the future is uncertain, but what we can be certain about is that Mind will continue to campaign for those of us with mental health problems. Whilst the UK government is monitoring the spread of the virus, Mind will be monitoring whether the government is protecting the nation's mental health.
We’ve developed five tests for better mental health, a checklist for what the UK government needs to prioritise now and beyond the coronavirus pandemic to make sure everyone gets the support they need:
Join the campaign. Sign-up to find out how you can take action and receive updates on progress.
16,000 of you shared your coronavirus experience in our research. Find out the results.
Find out more about each of the five tests that we're asking the government to meet.
Find out how you can take action and get updates by signing up as a campaigner.
Vicki Nash, our Head of Policy and Campaigns, explains why it is so important, now more than ever, for the government to focus on the nation's mental health.
Read our full report outlining all of the five tests.
You can get in touch with our Policy and Campaigns team at [email protected] or find out more about our fives tests for the UK government in our report. You can also sign-up to be a campaigner and receive emails on how you can get involved in this work.
If you're looking for support with your mental health, take a look at our coronavirus information hub.