With unemployment rising and social distancing restrictions in full effect, a large number of Canadians are reporting their mental health has gotten worse during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey.
In new findings released by the Angus Reid Institute on Monday, the results showed that 50 percent of Canadians are saying they’ve experienced a decline in mental health, while one-in-ten or 10 percent suggest it has deteriorated “a lot.”
When it came to the feelings of Canadians over the past few weeks, the survey showed two similar words land at the top of a list of adjectives: worried and anxious.
Of the Canadians surveyed, the words most used to describe their current feelings during the pandemic were worried (44%), anxious (41%) and bored (30%), with one-third (34%) also saying they are grateful. The Angus Reid Institute felt that the amount of people who were feeling grateful speaks to the “overwhelming praise Canadians have offered for their public health officials and front-line workers.”
Lower down the list, 16 percent said they were feeling depressed, 9 percent said they were feeling numb while only 6 percent said they were happy.
The results also pointed to worry, anxiety and also gratitude being higher among women than men whereas men were more likely than women to say they’re optimistic.
The Angus Reid Institute conducted the survey between April 15 and 17, polling a random sample of 1,912 Canadian adults.
The Institute said in a report that the “new data paints a picture of a nation whose optimism and resilience has been literally depressed by the events of the last month-and-a-half.”
The survey also created a “COVID-19 Impact Index” based on people’s mental health and financial situation during the pandemic.
According to the results, 50 percent of Canadians fell into the ‘Hardest Hit’ category (both financial and mental struggles) or the ‘Mentally Struggling’ category.
Nearly half (41%) of the 24 percent of Canadians who fall under the ‘Mentally Struggling’ category have said that their lives are a three, four or five, on the 10-point self-assessment scale. Females between the ages of 18-34 made up the largest age demographic in this category, however according to a report from Angus Reid, they said “it is clear that no group is free from mental or financial stress during this time.”
That said, the data shows older men are much more likely than others to be ‘Managing Well.’
Mental health isn’t the only metric that seems to be declining among Canadians, as the Angus Reid survey results suggest that one-in-three across all age and gender combinations say their physical well-being has taken a hit.
Anticipating higher stress as a result of COVID-19, the federal government announced earlier this month that they were launching an online mental health web portal to aid struggling Canadians.
Graham Cox
