I couldn’t as help in lockd ..but now I’m here for oth

There are many forms of mental health issues, which range in severity. Millions of people were suffering with conditions before March 2020. Since then they have

been triggered in mi From anxiety and bip there’s one thing the common – the pande them worse...

JAMES Downs had fought debilitating eating disorders since he was a teen but felt stronger than ever at the start of 2020, until lockdown hit.

He had finished his studies in psychology and was a successful yoga instructor. He was determined to beat his illness for good and prepared for sessions with a top private therapist.

But then 10 years of work he had put into his recovery, since attempting suicide aged 20, began to unravel.

Bulimic James, 32, says: “Things seemed to be getting better for me. I’d had a consultation with a specialist and figured out I had just about enough money per week to afford the sessions and I was maintaining my weight.”

But lockdown started before his sessions began. Like many, he was hesitant to visit his doctors.

He was not alone in struggling with his eating disorders. Demand for the helpline run by specialist charity Beat soared by more than 300% at the

It felt like a very hopeless and helpless time

height of the pandemic, and the number of under-18s asking for help rose by 215%.

Beat’s Tom Quinn said: “Those affected have had to cope with extreme changes to daily routines… all while also dealing with the additional stress the pandemic has brought.”

James, facing financial pressure as his yoga classes went online, found it hard to use the kitchen in the house he shared with four others.

“I’d never use it in front of anyone else because of these feelings of shame and embarrassment that come with an eating disorder. I’d feel under a lot of pressure about the food I was