One in five are suffering from ‘COVID-19 anxiety syndrome’, according to new research from London South Bank University.
This could mean a significant proportion of people will struggle to reintegrate back into daily life when the majority of restrictions end on July 19, and will need extra mental health support.
A UK-wide survey of 975 people, conducted in late June, found that 40 per cent strongly avoided touch things in public spaces due to fear of the virus; a third avoided public transport; 23 per cent avoided public places; a quarter paid close attention to others displaying possible symptoms, and one in five scored highly on an anxiety scale about COVID-19.
Unsurprisingly, those who had lost a family member due to Covid-19 were more likely to be anxious about returning to normal life.
However, age, gender and vaccination status were not found to be predictors of anxiety levels.
The concept of COVID-19 anxiety syndrome was first coined by Professor Marcantonio Spada, from LSBU’s Centre for Addictive Behaviours, and Professor Ana Nikevic from Kingston University, in April 2020.
Their research found that people were developing a particular set of behaviours as a result of their fear of the virus, and they conducted the current study in collaboration with Professor Ian Albery from LSBU’s Centre for Addictive Behaviours Research.
Covid-19 anxiety syndrome consists of forms of coping such as a constant attention to threat, worry, avoidance and excessive checking, that can keep people locked into a state of continuous anxiety and fear of contracting the virus.
Marcantonio Spada, Professor of Addictive Behaviours and Mental Health at LSBU, said: “Our data indicates that after one month of re-opening of society many people are still struggling with aspects of COVID-19 anxiety syndrome, a similar figure to what we previously observed during full lockdown.
“This means that there are still many people who find it difficult to disengage from the COVID-19 threats which may make return to normal daily living harder as restrictions ease.
“Our new findings show how vital it is that people affected by COVID-19 anxiety syndrome receive support.
“Mapping out how we will do this will become a priority for mental health service providers.”