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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Danni Scott

People bombard BBC with examples of lockdown severely impacting their mental health

The Covid pandemic was a scary and confusing time for many, with lockdowns isolating people from friends and family as well as productive work environments.

A review was released by the BMJ looking into the impact of that time on our mental health, which the BBC reported was found to be "minimal".

The BBC's tweet, sharing the story, was met with outcry online as those who struggled during the pandemic questioned the validity of these findings.

In protest, many have shared their experiences during the lockdowns, arguing that boredom and isolation got the better of them and their mental state.

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The story garnered criticism for being 'misleading' (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The BBC's tweet has over 44k quote tweets from people sharing their genuine mental health concerns, criticising the conclusion that there was little to no impact on people's mental health.

Some admissions directly contradicted the BBC's headline, with a user sharing they "attempted suicide in 2021 due to mental health issues that came up over quarantine."

"I was fundamentally changed as a person by the pandemic and still haven't figured out how to recover," added someone else. "And I didn't even lose anyone close to me. Giant slap in the face to all those who had to grieve alone through it."

Twitter allows users to add context to tweets to tackle misinformation and under the BBC one, users have clarified the review "did not look at lower-income countries, or specifically focus on children, young people and those with existing problems, the groups most likely affected."

This garnered more criticism for the review itself with users saying it was biased and ignored people who would have been worse affected by the pandemic. Some criticised the headline as being "misleading" and contradicting BBC's own Panorama episode which looked at the mental health crisis in young people.

Many said the headline was "insulting" to those who worked throughout the pandemic, particularly doctors, nurses and other people on the front lines of Covid or anyone who lost family members during that time.

Science journalist Erica Biba added: "I appreciate [people] posting this [with] examples about how the pandemic used to make them feel bad but let's acknowledge that disabled and chronically ill people are *still* isolated and their mental health is *increasingly* worse and they don’t have the benefit of societal solidarity."

People also shared more light-hearted hobbies and odd behaviours they took on during the pandemic to ridicule the findings.

Among the thousands of responses, Rachel Paige shared a throwback picture of her dog during the pandemic, who she threw a "bark mitzvah" for while living "over 3,000 miles away". She added: "Thrilled to announce I am now also planning her upcoming sweet 16."

"There was no music IRL and I didn't realise I was being filmed," said one user who shared a video of themselves covered in a massive paper bag, dancing around in their garden alone.

Someone else said: "I bought 50+ copies of the exact same movie on a dead format during the pandemic but ok, go off" with a picture of their many Godzilla VHS tapes.

Another added: "My roommates and I started a glass corner where we would throw and shatter our beer bottles after we finished them but ok."

The Samaritans is available 24/7 if you need to talk. You can contact them for free by calling 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or head to the website to find your nearest branch.

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