‘Anxiety levels lower than at start of lockdown’

LEVELS of anxiety among Britons appear to be reducing compared to the start of lockdown, new figures show.

At the beginning of lockdown there was a “marked” increase of anxiety, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Between March 20 and March 30, almost half (49.6%) of people reported high anxiety. This reduced to 37% between April 30 and May 10.

But average anxiety scores are still higher compared with last year, and it has been estimated that 19 million adults in Britain are suffering high levels.

The ONS report on anxiety and coronavirus states: “The effect seen on average anxiety ratings throughout the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic shows a similar pattern to the theory of ‘hedonic adaptation’.

“When a shock event occurs, such as the impact of the coronavirus, wellbeing is temporarily impacted but people then quickly adapt so that wellbeing partially bounces back, though not necessarily to the same level as it was before the shock.

“During lockdown new measures have been put into place which may have also helped to alleviate high levels of anxiety.”

The report illustrates that various groups appear to be more vulnerable to anxiety during lockdown. People who are lonely are significantly more likely to be anxious – people who “often or always” felt lonely were almost five times more likely to report high anxiety than those who “never” feel lonely.

People aged 75 and older were twice as likely as young adults – aged 16 to 24 – to report high levels of anxiety.

Around one in five of those who reported high levels of anxiety during lockdown said that their work had been affected because they were finding working from home difficult, the ONS said.

And almost two in five (39%) of people who are married or in a civil partnership have reported high levels of anxiety during lockdown – up from 19% in the last quarter of 2019.

The ONS suggested that those who are married or in a civil partnership are more likely to be balancing homeschooling alongside work commitments.

People taking part in the ONS’ Opinions and Lifestyle Survey are asked: “On a scale where 0 is not at all anxious and 10 is completely anxious, overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?”

Scores from six to 10 indicate high levels of anxiety.

The average rating across all adults at the end of last year was 2.97. But at the end of March this rose to 5.18.