The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world in innumerable ways, but it's growing increasingly apparent that it's contributed to a worldwide crisis of another kind: mental health.
The need for mental health resources in the UK is on a sharp incline. Dr Adrian James, the president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, recently stated that the pandemic has posed a great threat to mental health, and threatens to undo years of progress without a new injection of funds into the system.
While mental health has been a growing need for a number of years, the demand has increased exponentially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In June of 2021, a record 1.5 million people across the UK received mental health treatment from the National Health Service (NHS). According to Dr James, many more desperately need that treatment. After a year of lockdowns, an estimated 1.6 million more people have come forward looking for help, and are waiting for treatment.