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May 15, 2020 – The chief executive of one mental health trust said: “We are definitely seeing ‘people not known to services’ who are acutely unwell. They are mainly young men aged 18-25 who require admission. Misuse of alcohol and drugs is a factor – people who normally smoke a bit of weed smoking more than usual in their rooms. People not working is also an issue.

“One woman rang us recently and said her partner was walking around their house like a zombie because he wasn’t working and couldn’t provide for the family and had just snapped.”

Psychiatrists are also concerned about stress linked to the fear of contracting Covid-19. Being cut off from family and friends, and disruption to normal NHS services, are also exacerbating existing mental health problems. Some now refer to the emergence of “lockdown anxiety”.

@TheGuardian