The Samaritans saw an almost 25 per cent spike in calls during the first week of New Zealand’s unprecedented lockdown, with increased anxiety being felt among callers.
Peter Barker, the chair of the board of Wellington Samaritans, said they received 23 per cent more calls over the March 29 to April 5 period.
“Almost all calls have been for loneliness or family issues,” he said.
“The family issues haven’t been ‘we are all cooped up and going story crazy’, it has been more about older people who are not interacting well with their children who live far away, or even just in the neighbourhood.”
Barker said many callers were concerned about how elderly relatives, who do not have friends of family to assist them, would be coping.
The most common problem, however, was increased anxiety.
“There are a lot of comments about Covid-19. People are worried about catching it,” he said.
“Anxious … about how the elderly are coping. Those on their own are feeling extremely vulnerable.”
Barker said they were also seeing an increase in symptoms of pre-diagnosed mental illnesses.
“Those with underlying mental health issues seem to be struggling more.”
He also said the virus, and the lockdown response, was making “lonely people that much lonelier”.
“Due to the timeframe imposed on shopping now with people queuing to shop, lonely callers can’t chat to staff,” he said.
“Supermarket staff working on the tills or shelving haven’t time to chat. This heightens a sense of loneliness.”
Barker said they had received few calls relating to concerns over finances, and no-one had complained about the need for the lockdown.
There had been isolated calls about concerns around water shortages, too.
It hasn’t all been anxiety and worry however.
“For some the lockdown has allowed them to relax and feel better about their lives,” Barker said.
“One caller said they were feeling better with the lockdown, because it was quieter. [They are] thinking of moving to a quieter part of New Zealand when the lockdown is over.”
First published by stuff.co.nz – click here to view the original article.