I thou havin attac was MS sufferer Joyce, 71, became isolated and fearful as she shielded at home during pandemic
t was at 1am, about two months into the first lockdown, when lonely Joyce Taylor was sure she was dying of a heart attack.
Every night since she had begun shielding alone Joyce, 71, had been gripped by panic. Haunted by news of Covid deaths she would restlessly roam the house for hours.
But this night it was worse. The pounding in her chest was so painful that the multiple sclerosis sufferer struggled for breath.
She says: “It was like the walls were closing in on me. I felt so hot, I had palpitations, my heart was pounding and I had a pain in my chest.” She rang her son who rushed her to A&E where doctors diagnosed an anxiety attack.
She says: “I have been through quite a lot of trauma, my MS diagnosis, my husband dying, my mum dying, looking after them both. So to be suffering at this time in my life, I was surprised.”
Sadly, Joyce’s experience is not unique. The mental health of older people advised to shield, and reminded repeatedly of their vulnerability, has really declined.
A study shows shielders such as retired clerical worker Joyce, who lives in Manchester with only elderly cat Amber for company, faced “markedly higher” levels of depression and anxiety.
In fact, symptoms were twice as common among high-risk individuals who were isolating.
Many found themselves away from partners in care homes, or tragically grieving. The number of over-65s bereaved rose by 15%.
On Day Four of our HeadStrong: Better Mental Health For All campaign, we can reveal worrying data from the charity Independent Age about older people’s mental health in the pandemic.
Some 29% feel sad, low or depressed about the future, 22% are anxious about getting Covid-19, and 16% will continue to feel lonely, despite lockdown ending.
For many older people, the lifting of restrictions has not meant the end of anxiety, or even shielding.
Despite being double jabbed, Joyce only went out again to art and exercise classes, which had stopped in March 2020, six weeks ago.
She is still on antidepressants, prescribed in the pandemic, but says: “I can’t get the bus or taxis, anywhere that’s busy I feel on edge. I still feel tired from living in a constant state of stress.”
According to the Office for National Statistics, during a seven-day period in midSeptember, 460,000 people aged 70 and over did not leave their house.
And an estimated 2.3 million older people at that time did not feel comfortable leaving home due to the pandemic. Deborah Alsina
MBE, chief executive of Independent Age, says: “Older people are often overlooked in the discussion about mental health but they cannot be left behind.”
She says the Government must learn from Covid-19 and prioritise funding for mental health support. Joyce’s story is very typical. When Covid hit, her cleaner stopped coming, and her sons could only drop her shopping off at the door. There are 21 flats in her retirement complex but she says the communal garden became like a “ghost town”.
Every night her anxiety would soar “sky high”, and the insomnia caused debilitating fatigue which worsened her MS symptoms. She says this continued every night for about six months. Her thoughts became dominated by her own death, a longer wanted t
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Thankfully, Joyce called her GP, who referred her to Age UK Manchester Counselling Service, and regular therapy plus medication has helped her anxiety.
The charity’s service provided 55 hours of counselling a month in early 2020. This has now risen to 76 and sometimes is nearly 90.
Service manager Peter Ireland says callers suffer anxiety, depression, stress, bereavement and isolation.
He says one client with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease became claustrophobic after shielding in a bedsit. Another client was unable to go to her husband’s funeral because she was isolating.
He says: “They had been married 54 years. Counselling helped her with her complicated grieving process and guilt. For some of our clients there was a general fear of this invisible enemy and they became fearful of other people, of going shopping, or going out for a walk.
“Even though the lockdown is over for many people, the fear, anxiety and mistrust carries on.”
But while Joyce asked for help, many older people have not.
Professor Carolyn ChewGraham, a GP who specialises in older people and mental health, says the message to protect the NHS made many reluctant to bother their surgery. They were also put off by online consulting, or fearful of attending in person.
She says older people often still feel a stigma around mental health.
Referral rates to NHS psychological therapies for over-65s are always lower than they should be.
The target for the age group is 12% of all referrals, pre-pandemic they made up just 5.7%. And this fell to 4.6% by the start of this year.
Prof Chew-Graham says: “It’s always been a hidden problem, now it’s more hidden.”
Life itself is at risk for older people if their mental health is not supported, she says. “Older adults also self-harm and kill themselves.”
She said official guidance on selfharm talks about cutting and overdose, “but the older adults we have spoken to say this can include binge eating, excess alcohol, maybe not taking your tablets or following your diabetes diet.
“Depression can make other long term conditions worse. It can make the outcomes poorer for diabetes or heart disease,” she says.
While support has now helped Joyce venture beyond her four walls, many older people still remain inside, desperately in need.