Ignore mental health issue at our peril

Anxiety is Covid-19’s silent, unpredictable side-effect – and it’s thriving in lockdown. GPs had already been facing an uphill battle against it, dishing out the antidepressants and online therapy.

For every person who is “fine” and learning how to play the ukelele, there will be thousands struggling to even pull back the covers in the morning.

Or trapped in an abusive relationship, or scarred from what they’re seeing on the wards at work. Traumatised by leaving a loved one to die on their own.

Some experts predict it could all result in a gigantic wave of post-traumatic stress disorder, with years of flashbacks and nightmares to come.

The mental-health fallout of lockdown is something that needs to be addressed by politicians and health professionals now – not treated as an afterthought.

This all happened as a short, sharp shock. And while technology can adapt to that, we humans are not built for it.

I’ve never been a worrier, but for the first time in my life I am fearful for what is going to happen to us when restrictions lift. Life is going to be so different.

It takes 21 days to develop a new habit and we will all have formed new ones while in lockdown.

I’ve had time to reflect on everyday things such as whether

I need to go to an actual gym or to have so many clothes, shoes and handbags. Do I need to step into a supermarket again?

I can see wider ramifications in industries such as retail, leisure and manufacturing.

And I am not convinced we are being mentally prepared to deal with this new world.

People are already being shut off from support networks.

Yes, technology has offered us an alternative. I have turned to my social media community to keep me sane, entertained and informed.

I used to have a few apps on my phone, but now the screen is covered with icons to help me shop, cook, work out, meditate and chat.

But older people who struggle to send a text are not suddenly going to be visiting the app store on the hunt for mindfulness tips.

There are some people who will come out of this stronger. There’s something called post-traumatic growth, where you go thorough a really tough, challenging time and it actually increases your psychological resilience. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

A bit like my parents, leaving everything they knew in the Himalayas, to come to Britain. They couldn’t afford to be anxious – they had to get on with it.

My mum and dad always reminded me, “there is always someone worse off than you”.

But unless our politicians want a nation getting by on antidepressants, they need to deal with the mental health issue.

Because no amount of handwashing can save a broken spirit.