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Sadag’s online survey findings on Covid-19 and mental health

65% of the people who completed the survey felt stressed or very stressed during it.

The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) has been receiving more calls since the start of lockdown from people feeling anxious, lonely, worried and depressed.

Many callers are stressed about a combination of issues including the spread of Covid-19, finances, relationship problems, job security, grief, gender based violence and trauma.

“Covid-19 and the lockdown has affected many South Africans, and it has had a serious impact on people living with a mental health issue often making their symptoms more heightened. Sadag has been receiving calls from people with no history of anxiety or depression who are feeling overwhelmed, anxious and stressed”, says Sadag’s operations director Cassey Chambers.

Sadag conducted an online survey on Mental Health during the Covid-19 lockdown via various online platforms including their website, newsletter members, Facebook and Twitter.

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Within 10 days there were over 1200 participants (total 1214 respondents) who completed the short seven minute survey asking participants about their home life, their mental health before and during lockdown, how they accessed information and what coping tips helped them to manage their mental health during the lockdown.

While a massive 92 percent of the respondents supported the lockdown, 65 percent of the people who completed the survey felt stressed or very stressed during it.

Sadag’s helplines receive calls from people across the country – from all races, gender, age, socio-economic backgrounds – which again highlights that mental illness does not discriminate.

In the survey, females were the majority of respondents – 85 percent versus males with only 15 percent. A total of 48% of respondents were between the ages of 26 and 45 years old. The majority of respondents were from Gauteng, which accounted for 60 percent, while 17 percent were from the Western Cape.

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The research showed that 62 percent of respondents are employed, while 38 percent were not employed at the time of the survey. Approximately two-thirds of the respondents (62 percent) were currently employed, while a third (38 percent) were unemployed at the time of the survey.

A total of 59 percent of respondents said they were diagnosed with a mental health issue prior to lockdown. Depression was the most common mental health diagnosis at 46 percent; anxiety was reported as the second most common diagnosis at 30 percent, and then bipolar disorder at 12 percent.

“These conditions could certainly be exacerbated by the lockdown,” says Sadag board chairperson, psychiatrist and psychologist, Dr Frans Korb.

“Particularly if the individual lives alone or in a dysfunctional home situation.”

As 16 percent of the respondents live along, this may be especially problematic for them.

Of concern, is that 16 percent of respondents live alone – and the loneliness and isolation is a recurring theme from the hundreds of callers who contact Sadag’s helplines every day. Loneliness could have mental health implications.

“For many people, this is a worrying amount of alone time when they are forced to face themselves, their fears and anxieties alone,” says Korb.

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