AFTER MONTHS HOME-WORKING, I FELT ANXIOUS ABOUT GOING OUT

ONE employee who suffered worsening mental health due to home working is Hannah Hickinbotham, 25, from Cambridge.

When the research assistant finished her master’s degree in March 2020, she couldn’t wait to get stuck in to her new career.

Then Covid hit.

‘I started my first job in September, but it was fully remote, so it was mostly just me at my kitchen table or the desk in my bedroom,’ says Hannah, who lives with her partner, Josh.

‘Within a few months I started becoming more anxious about venturing out. I felt like I didn’t know how to be around other people, or how to act. And there were no distractions from my anxious thoughts.’

In January 2021, Hannah’s GP diagnosed her with anxiety and depression and referred her for psychological therapy. ‘I had this constant feeling of impending doom and feeling like something bad was going to happen,’ she says. ‘I’d become panicky after seeing friends for an hour and feel like I had to go home. I started to shut down and spend most evenings on the sofa. I felt very low and worthless.’

Then the eating disorder she suffered in her late teens started to rear its head again.

‘I started exercising to give myself something to do, but it quickly became obsessional,’ says Hannah, who hosts a podcast about eating disorder recovery called Full Of Beans.

Eventually, antidepressants prescribed by her GP and a new, in-office job helped lift Hannah’s mood.

‘I force myself to cycle in five days a week and try to see friends as much as possible,’ she says.

‘Everyone is different. But for me, being near people is essential for my mental health.’