{"id":48749,"date":"2021-02-02T12:50:12","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T12:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=48749"},"modified":"2021-02-02T15:31:57","modified_gmt":"2021-02-02T15:31:57","slug":"time-to-talk-day-facing-the-mental-health-challenges-of-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2021\/02\/02\/time-to-talk-day-facing-the-mental-health-challenges-of-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to Talk Day: Facing the mental health challenges of Covid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Experts, celebrities and Cardiff residents share ways to cope with isolation and loneliness<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

NEW figures reveal that one in five people in Wales feel their support network has shrunk during the pandemic, leaving them with fewer people to talk to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a survey of 4,500 people from across the UK, 43% of respondents said that the lack of -face-to-face contact had limited their support network, while 41% said they were afraid of feeling like a burden if they shared their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosie Moore, 24, of Cardiff, said: \u201cDue to my depression, anxiety and OCD, my instinct is to isolate and protect myself from whatever causes my mental health to deteriorate, which can lead me to withdraw from my family and friends”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosie suffers from intrusive thoughts that something bad will happen to her or her loved ones. The pandemic has exacerbated these thoughts, especially after both Rosie\u2019s grandparents died from Covid-19 during summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey died within weeks of each other,\u201d she said, \u201cnot being able to see them was very upsetting”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Rosie, lockdown has been \u201creally isolating and lonely\u201d. She finds it harder to talk about her mental health online rather than face-to-face, and said it feels \u201charder to open up with each lockdown\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Runversations’ keep Cardiff runners going during lockdown<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the survey results show, Rosie is not the only one struggling with lockdown and its impact on her mental health. However, some groups have found creative ways to support those struggling, even while they couldn’t meet up face-to-face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna-Jane Thomas, 48, of Whitchurch, is a committee member for She Runs Cardiff. The group has grown significantly during lockdown and now has over a thousand members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the face of Covid restrictions, She Runs Cardiff developed ‘runversations’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two (or more) runners pop on their headphones, give each other a call and head out on a run, virtually replicating the joy of running and walking with friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"