Lifting the lid on the UK’s mental health crisis
Why are people struggling with their mental health more now than ever?
Rates of mental illness in England have been steadily rising since the turn of this century. The number of people with a common mental health condition, such as anxiety and depression, seeking treatment rose from 23.1 per cent in 2000 to 39.4 per cent in 2014. That’s an increase of more than two thirds. For children and young people, it is believed that rates of mental illness have been rising even faster. Between 2017 and 2022, rates of a probable mental health condition increased from around one in 10 to one in four for those aged 17-19.
Covid-19 accelerated the difficulties people are facing. Mental health services in England received a record five million referrals during 2023 – up 33 per cent from 2019. For the Child and Adolescents Mental Health Service (CAMHS), the increase is particularly stark. There are more than three times as many children and young people in contact with mental health services as there were in 2016. Evidence also shows that people in areas of higher deprivation are more likely to be in contact with mental health services.
So what factors are playing into this worrying trend?
Socioeconomic inequalities
Economic difficulty can be a catalyst for distress. It affects nearly every aspect of life, including basic needs like housing and food. Low income, unemployment and poor housing are persistent and cumulative stress factors and are shown to be strongly associated with anxiety, depression and other mental illness.
Children and adults living in households in the lowest 20% income bracket in Great Britain are two to three times more likely to develop mental health difficulties than those in the highest bracket (1).
This can then be exacerbated by the social stigma surrounding poverty which can prevent individuals from seeking support.
Addressing these inequalities has the potential to reduce mental illness, but it requires systemic change.
Technology – a double-edged sword
Technology touches nearly every part of our lives and this offers opportunities for connection and access to help and resources but it also contributes to stress, overstimulation and social comparison. Studies into this topic indicate that there is a strong link between technology and declining mental health.
A 2022 systematic review in Frontiers in Psychology found a significant association between excessive social media use and heightened levels of anxiety, depression, and poor self-esteem (2). Constant connectivity fosters social comparison and fear of missing out (FOMO), which can erode wellbeing. In addition, algorithms often promote content that add to this, such as fear-inducing news or unattainable body imagery.
Evidence also shows that extended screen time, especially before bed, interferes with sleep quality due to blue light exposure and mental overstimulation. Poor sleep is a well-established risk factor for mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
Being "always online" creates pressure to respond immediately to work, social, and personal demands. There’s a blurring of boundaries between professional and personal life as well as the feeling that your brain can never switch off. This digital overload can contribute to burnout and emotional exhaustion.
Setting boundaries on when you use technology and what you use it for is important. Decide what feels healthy and useful, and what aspects of it don’t make you feel good.
The pressure to do more, all the time
The pressure to ‘do more’ can also be detrimental to our wellbeing. The relentless push for productivity, also known as toxic productivity, leaves little time for rest, reflection, or meaningful social interactions, which are essential for mental health. It forces individuals to prioritise work and perceived obligations over leisure and self-care.
Technology accelerates this. The fast pace just gets faster because we face increased expectations for immediate responses and multi-tasking. Work emails, social media notifications, and personal messaging compete for attention, leaving little time for essential restorative time.
There is a growing movement that supports a slower pace of life as people are understanding how this constant pressure is affecting them. Moving towards a societal norm that values balance and rest over relentless speed is vital.
Getting help
These are just a few of the factors that are contributing to mental ill-health but it’s made worse because access to effective support isn’t easy. Gaps in care services are well documented. When people can’t access timely or adequate care, conditions worsen, increasing the long-term strain on healthcare systems. It’s a feedback loop that must be disrupted.
Young people face some of the longest waits for specialist care. Early intervention is critical, yet under-resourced services often fail to meet this need.
Increased funding is desperately needed alongside policies that are focused on prevention, accessibility and tackling socioeconomic disparities.
A shift is needed
A 10-year plan for the NHS is now underway, following an investigation in September 2024 from Lord Darzi, an academic surgeon, medical expert and former health minister. Darzi’s report analysed the state of the NHS, including patient access, quality of care and overall performance of the health system. It found that the NHS is in a ‘critical condition’ amid surging waiting lists and a deterioration in the nation’s health. And there is a fundamental problem with the way the NHS distributes its resources between mental health and physical health. Mental health accounts for more than 20 per cent of the disease burden but less than 10 per cent of NHS expenditure. You can read a summary of Lord Darzi’s findings.
Views, experiences and ideas are now being gathered as the government begins to develop the 10-year plan. There is no quick fix but changes can, and must, start to be made. If people have the right tools and support, they can look after their wellbeing or get early help to prevent problems from escalating.
A societal shift is also needed that challenges the habits and lifestyles that fuel mental health difficulties. We can all play a role in that by practising saying what we need and putting it into action – at work and at home. Slowly but surely, the building blocks must be put in place now to build the mentally healthy society that we want to see in the future.
Bibliography
Marmot, M., Allen, J., Goldblatt, P., Boyce, T., McNeish, D., Grady, M., & Geddes, I. (2010). Fair society, healthy lives: Strategic review of health inequalities in England post 2010.
Zhao Jin , Jia Ting , Wang Xiuming , Xiao Yiming , Wu Xingqu (2022). Risk Factors Associated With Social Media Addiction: An Exploratory Study. Frontiers in Psychology. DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2022.837766