What’s Next? The Timeline of Events

As a country and globally, we’ve been witness to an accumulation of events over the past three years that have had a domino effect on how we function, live and thrive – economically, socially and emotionally. Changes are happening daily, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon.

To put things into perspective, we’ve highlighted some of the key events that have happened across the globe in our infographic below. This is only a tiny insight into the ins and outs of what’s really going on and the cost-of-living-crisis is only the tip of the iceberg.

Despite the challenges we’ve faced as a nation and globally, we’ve continued to fight battle after battle and keep our heads just above the water, but is it any wonder that we’re now facing a mental health pandemic?

We’ll cover:

Some of the Key Stats From the Past 3 Years
What’s Next? The Timeline of Events

Some of the Key Stats From the Past 3 Years

Covid-19 – UK and Globally

MHF: Almost one quarter (24%) of UK adults have felt loneliness because of COVID-19.
MHF: Feelings of loneliness have more than doubled over the UK lockdown period.
House of Commons Library: Unemployment levels rose throughout 2020, and reached a peak of 1.77 million in October-December 2020.
Access People HR: 2020 was the ‘most stressful year in history for the global workforce’ with 70% experiencing more stress and anxiety at work than any other year.
MindUK: More than half of adults (60%) and over two-thirds of young people (68%) have said their mental health got worse during the UK lockdown.
Deloitte: Mental health research from Deloitte last year revealed that the cost to employers of poor mental health has increased, to up to £56bn in 2020-21 compared to £45bn in 2019.
WHO: In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a massive 25%.
ONS: 314,000 people were made redundant in the UK – more than during the peak of the Great Recession.

The Death of George Floyd

15 million to 26 million people in the U.S. had participated in protests.
London’s protests exploded from about 20 people outside the U.S. embassy to more than 20,000 people flooding the streets. Celebrities joined, including Madonna and John Boyega, who gave an impassioned address to protesters.
Stanford News: Nearly 1 in 2 Black Americans reported feelings of anger (48 percent), representing a 2.1-fold increase from the week before.
Stanford News: Sadness also soared to 47 percent of Black Americans reporting feelings of loss, despair and grief. Among white Americans it was about 1 in 3: Some 34 percent said they experienced anger and 36 percent sadness.

Ukraine Invasion:

Euro News: The WHO said 10 million people will likely experience depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia in connection with the Ukraine invasion.
Euro News: Support services are that strained for mental health help, it can only care for one-third of those struggling as a result of the Ukraine invasion.
WHO: One in five (22%) people who have experienced war or other conflicts in the previous 10 years, will have depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

UK Strikes

ONS: In total, 2.472 million working days were lost between June and December 2022; of these, over three-quarters (79%) came from workers in transport, storage, information and communication.

Cost-of-living crisis – UK

Access People HR: 20.3 million workers are affected by money worries and most employees struggle to reach payday.
The ONS: rates of depression were higher among those who found it hard to afford housing costs or energy bills, and higher among renters than homeowners.
BACP: Two-thirds (66%) of therapists say the cost of living concerns are causing a decline in people’s mental health, according to the research.