ONS: anxiety levels rise amid cost of living crisis – “A national emergency”

This morning, the ONS published a report showing rising anxiety levels among the UK public, largely caused by the cost of living crisis, specifically energy bills. If you’re covering this, the following comments may be of use:

Dr Jackie Mulligan, expert on the Government’s High Streets Task Force and founder of the local shopping website, Shopappy: “The cost of living crisis we’re facing is nothing short of a national emergency. People are already emotionally exhausted after two years of the pandemic and now they face another monumental struggle. Sadly, it looks like the current inflation spiral still has a long way to go and the fallout, and effects on people’s mental health, could be immense.”

Peter Rackley, a Ramsgate-based artist: “It’s an extremely worrying time for every family right now with inflation where it is. With the cost of everything increasing, I can’t see how I can grow as a business at the moment, and am even concerned I might struggle to maintain an income. The impact this could have on my household would be devastating.”

Jamie Rackham, founder of Bristol- and Forest of Dean-based UK Facebook group, Not on Amazon, which has 193k independent creatives as members: “Two years of a global health crisis and we’re now in an unprecedented financial crisis, with household and business bills rising across the board. It’s no wonder anxiety levels are on the rise. A constant theme in our group is falling sales and the increased anxiety that is creating. Working people are under the cosh like never before and the Government doesn’t seem to understand the psychological trauma millions are experiencing.”

Peter Vidlicka, Co-founder of free PR platform, Newspage“The cost of living crisis is taking not just a financial toll on people but a huge psychological one. Just as they come up for air after the pandemic, people are being pounded by a massive inflationary wave. While many were able to benefit from some form of Government support during the pandemic, and there was a sense of solidarity, a lot of people feel like they are having to face the current fight alone and it is having a major impact on their mental health.”