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The third lockdown seems to have affected mental health more than the others and it will take some time for the community to recover, says support group founder Samuel Robbins. During the pandemic, we ve seen a rise in mental health issues with more people concerned about their wellbeing. The Swindon and Wiltshire Mental Health Support Group membership has now reached 556 members with more joining daily to seek support and advice from other members. In a recent survey of the group, most members’ mental health was affected negatively by the pandemic. One member said: Pretty much all my usual coping mechanisms were taken away or made illegal. Isolating myself is the worse thing I can do, and I was forced into it.
A DAD is encouraging people to do some volunteering to improve their mental health. Samuel Robbins and his family went out to litter pick taking inspiration from one of the five steps to mental wellbeing. The founder of Swindon and Wiltshire Mental Health Support Group on Facebook is highlighting the issue ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week which starts on Monday. He and his partner Catrina Fletcher took their four children Aimee, 11, Olly-Jai, six, George, five, and Nala, two around the County Ground and the nearby park armed with litter pickers. “It’s something we planned to do because we walk through there all the time, he said. The council do go up there and clear it but they don’t always have the time. A lot of school kids go through there and leave a lot of rubbish.”
ONE in six children has suffered mental health issues during the pandemic, according to the Children’s Commissioner’s annual report. In her latest briefing Anne Longfield said a cocktail of education disruption, isolation from friends, limited chances to play and worry about the impact of the virus on their families had taken a heavy toll on some children. In her state of mental health services report she said: A staggering one in six children now have a probable mental health condition. We do not know how far this spike will have long term consequences on children’s mental health, nor do we know the impact of further lockdowns, but it is highly likely that the level of underlying mental health problems will remain significantly higher as a result of the pandemic.