What began as a public health crisis appears to have led to a significant mental health challenge. There was a significant decline in mental health in the early stages of the pandemic although indicators of psychological distress improved between April and May 2020.
The number of people feeling nervous in April 2020 was up 17% from February 2017 to 45%, but fell 7.5% in May 2020.
More than a third, 37%, of people felt restless or fidgety in May 2020, down from 42% in April, and around the same level as February 2017.
Slightly fewer people reported feeling so sad nothing could cheer them up in May 2020 (17%) was down slightly from April (19%).
The number of people saying they felt worthless stayed around the same level in May 2020 (16%) as it had been in April 2020 and February 2017.