No real mental health crisis from pandemic

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Confirmed by BMJ, after surveys across high income countries across Europe and ASia

This doesn't surprise me in the slightest, despite a myriad of anecdotal accounts on MN and in some other places.

I know I asked many hundreds of children myself, and found more enjoyed and benefited from lockdown than suffered because of it, and mental health charities knew at the time that suicide rates were falling, which has later been confirmed.

Some people's mental health deteriorated in the lockdowns. Some people's improved. Overall, there was a small rise in mild/moderate mental health problems being reported, while suicides decreased.

Can we stop blaming the pandemic and lockdown for poor mental health across the board now, but particularly in schools.

That shocks me. I know playgrounds were closed for a short while, but our local park was teeming with people.
When take away alcohol was allowed our local park looked like a festival site.

I don’t believe that study for a minute because there will inevitably be a time lag.

Mental health issues tend to either be genetic/part of someone’s make up or trauma induced. Childhood trauma is a very common indicator of mental health issue later on in life. It is unlikely children in difficult homes would have experienced less trauma overall stuck at home.

My 10 yo DD got Covid Christmas 21, she then went onto develop Long Covid and associated anxiety and depression. It has been devastating for her.

My dad was in a nursing home before the pandemic. When it hit, we were banned from visiting.

The staff couldn't get PPE.

Then the "caring" Tories told hospitals to release patients into nursing homes, without being tested.

Covid ripped round that home - they had no protection at all.

One morning they phoned, said my dad had only a couple of hours left to live. I begged them to be allowed to go up, even for 5 minutes, to say goodbye.

They couldn't let me - the caring Tories had forbade it.

My dad died with the matron and a carer sitting with him, and the GP declared him dead over FaceTime.

The GP had to make an educated guess at to what killed him - it went down as heart failure and with Covid. Couldn't be sure, as they couldn't get the testing kits, due to supply issues.

I then had to arrange a funeral with 10 people allowed. No funeral cars were allowed, because of inadequate screening, sitting apart through the service, and no "wake" afterwards.

On the exact day my Dad died, Johnson and Co were holding a garden party, wheeling in suitcases of alcohol and singing ABBA songs, while laughing at how stupidly compliant Joe Public were.

They did nothing to protect those in care homes. It was unforgivable.😡

But that wouldn't show up as she's diagnosed with Long Covid and anxiety and depression are part of it xx

I'm so sorry for what you went through 💐

Where did her school work or your job fit in to that? Who was doing all the painting and baking?

Thank you. I did it because I assumed we needed to do it. I didn't realise that the government were running around virtually living a normal life. Their own rules apparently didn't apply to them.🙁

I really am angry about the behaviour of Johnson, Hancock etc - but I don't suppose they will suffer any penalty.

The only good thing to come out of this is that people now know they were taken for fools, and won't be compliant again.

Translation: I'm not interested in inconvenient facts as my mind is made up.

I want to know why the OP thinks this study says anything about the MH of children in lockdown.

We obviously did the painting and baking around school; like we do now. School work was 9-1.30 ish. 1.30 - bedtime we did all the above activities like most people did. I don’t make my children do school work on weekends like you must do so we also did those things on weekends.

Suicide and suicide attempts aren't the only measure of mental health problems and depression FGS.

I suspect many are suffering in silence or their suffering will become apparent long term.

Yes there bloody well was or at least it seemed like there was. How people forget.
The rules during the first lockdown were believed to be an hour of exercise but it was frowned upon where I live to linger in one place or play football on the green for example where people may have needed to walk through. You weren’t allowed to drive for the purpose of exercise so it was only where you / your kids could walk to and if you have younger kids with you that isn’t far.
Everyone who was out was nervous of even seeing someone at a 2m distance let alone navigate kids running around with a football.
i remember during those stages of announcing the deaths each day people were even eyeing each other suspiciously out for a walk at times. Felt like you were in a goldfish bowl whenever I stepped out into my village. It was awful.
Then in lockdown two we got beeped and stared at from passing cars because I had enough of weeks of no socialisation of my 7 year old and met up with another mum outside with her child for a walk. Awful.

So you were around Monday-Friday 1:30 onwards to cook and bake? How lovely. My 3 kids had to sit in front of the TV or argue and squabble in the boiling heat most days whilst I had to work. It was better for some I guess.

'They did nothing to protect those in care homes.'

I'm sorry for your loss, however you yourself have just said they banned visits. That was to protect those in care homes.

I can't quite understand how folk say in one breath we couldn't visit them then in the next say nothing was done to protect them.

Locally, day centres for those with a learning disability were shut for over a year. Respite centres for disabled children were shut for a year. Most children in special schools did not have a place in school during first lockdown and many because they couldn't learn remotely had no education during that time. OP you are speaking from a very privileged position.

I'm so sorry @Zebedee55 .

And I thoroughly agree with the PP who is finding the 'I'm alright Jack' posts the height of tastelessness. I was alright Jack. I was bloody lucky. I wasn't working at the time so could focus on my kids, who were young enough to not be badly affected by being isolated from their peers. DH could keep working so we had no change in income. We have a garden, and we live within walking distance of greenspace which wasn't locked. My parents died long ago and DH's are relatively young, healthy and were able to keep well isolated, so no worries about care homes or parents catching Covid.

I know that all these factors put together put our family into a tiny percentage of the population and it was nothing but sheer luck that we happened to be in that percentage and were able to have a reasonable time in a period that was nothing short of hell for others. It is not something I would crow about.

I was yes.

Sure was.

There was, or “it seemed like there was”

There was absolutely not a rule against kicking a football.

I can't believe people are still arguing this.

People on here accused me of making it up, it was on the local news and on the local websites, but even when I linked, I was told I was a liar.

lockdown brought out the cruel callous side for people who already had it and wanted to lord it over others.

now I am cruel and callous to lockdown supporters. Eye for an eye etc.

In Wales in the first lockdown the parks absolutely were closed with padlocks and chains on the gates.

@Zebedee55 💐

That's actually given me goosebumps. It was horrible wasn't it. And we had a relatively privileged life, rural and few neighbours. Even so we had the local busibodies noting peoples movements on the newly created village Facebook page.

Those silent queues for the supermarkets! The whole thing seems insane now.

Do you not think testing hospital patients and providing PPE was the best way to protect them?🙄

Many old people just faded away when relatives couldn't visit any more. Residents couldn't even sit with each other in a communal area for a long time.

It did more harm than good, which I think is being a acknowledged now.

Honestly, if you weren't involved, with anyone in a care home, then you really haven't got a clue.