No real mental health crisis from pandemic

[Nimbostratus100]

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.

As others have said, it is a very robust report.

You have made incorrect conclusions based on it though. It doesn’t include children and it’s at early stages not later when they would have grown up.

Any thinking around children can’t be based on this report.

I linked earlier warnings of damage to dc in BMJ. These were not highlighted for obvious reasons.

I think anyone without children really shouldn’t be commenting on these threads! It’s like the trapped toddler threads in lock down when older people/childless people came on to say we were being dramatic and negative for saying lock downs were sending us barmy or effecting our kids. If you homeschooled kids, while working with no outside interaction for months then you’ll know it wasn’t great for them. Many parents here dealing with the effects years later.

Why are you snippy with her? She acknowledges that her experience wasn't everyone's experience and that for some people it sucked. I found lockdown grindingly relentlessly hard but I'm actually really glad that some people didn't have to experience it like that.

'My teen attempted suicide because of it, been stuck in a home with an abuser all day long ( not me)'

This is awful, how did it happen why were they stuck at home with an abuser?

I work in schools. There is a mental health crisis amongst pupils and staff. It may not just be due to the pandemic, but it’s real & it’s extremely worrying. There are a significant number of children who haven’t even set foot back into a school since lockdown, their MH is that bad.

Well this is going to light a fire under the classic ‘Do you have a study for that?’ school of thought.

Do we believe studies? Or don’t we?

Lots of people were invested (financially and psychologically) in lockdowns being bad. Facts, figures, extensive research, will make no difference to them because it doesn't suit their agenda and we seem to have entered a time where misinformation and emotion trump facts.

And suicide attempts? Prescriptions from GPs for anti depressants? Miserable, stressed, unproductive people?

went down

Suicide attempts are surely proportionate to the number of suicides aren’t they?

I think this was to Sassy whom I quoted but yes it’s a leap. There was no contact. The school were not aware of the impact.

Oh I think lockdowns were a crap idea, I also believe this study.

I don't have children. Doesn't mean I can't have an opinion about how they were treated! We're not all selfish and myopic 😉

So to conclude, it was good for some and not for others 🙄.

We loved it here. I live on a main road, which was closed (to stop the spread of covid…..😆) so we had no pollution and it was so wonderfully peaceful. I was lucky that my DS18 just got on with his work so I didn’t have to prompt him constantly (haven’t been able to help him since primary as he’s far more academic than me!).

It took all the societal pressure off for a while. As someone with fragile health (not ill so no financial help, but with limited useable hours), even though nothing actually changed, I felt ok about doing nothing much. It helped that the weather was so lovely during the first lockdown.

I am so sorry to hear about those who lost someone to suicide. I lost a good friend to suicide many years ago and it is devastating.
For individuals the pandemic may have been one element that led to their suicide. But the studies and figures say overall suicides did not increase.

Lots of things contribute sadly to suicides. When the currency changed some people committed suicide as they could not cope with the change. If cash disappeared the same would happen. A big change in society can be the final straw for some people.

@Nimbostratus100

It may be a robust report (except even the study itself acknowledges the bias and limitations)

But it isn't saying what you think it is

@Moonicorn

Depends on the study.

Not all research is good.

@WestwardHo1 sorry Westwood, you are breaking the usual rule of ‘kids are resilient’ posters 💐

I know 4 people who took their own lives in this period. One was a direct consequence as he had been very ill his whole life and structured services stopped. I'm not sure the other three are linked.

Sorry but "went down" isn't really enough.

Because it's unrecorded.

Doesn't mean it's insignificant though.

I think there were many different experiences depending in individual circumstances but in my line of work many found it hard to come out of lockdown as it was a bit of a step away from the usual pressures and demands of life. It frustrates me that there is a lot of talk about MH and improving resilience but little about what we can change about the way we live and the society we live in.

It doesn’t include children.

Women had worse outcomes than men.

It is also from studies mostly early on in pandemic.

From those facts I’m not that surprised by it

Do you think it’s relevant to children?

On the one hand, there didn't appear to be a pandemic of suicide caused by lockdown in the initial months, as some people wanted to suggest on here.

On the other hand, it is clearly a pretty complex issue. Some people have had a very difficult couple of years, others have not.

I think things have been very difficult for schools, for many teachers and for at least some of the children; and there has also been huge pressure on CAMHS, so at times it has been very difficult to get help.

They didn't say that.

Read it again. They said 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.

Faux outrage helps no one.

What the op is discussing is factually accurate - suicides reduced.

@AnnesBrokenSlate mothers talking about their children’s mental health and suicide attempts on a parenting website “an agenda” “emotion trumping facts”. “Misinformation”.

@carriedout

I'll wait for you to catch up.