Different approaches to cope with virus stresses

The Office of National Statistics surveyed people about their experiences of Covid19 between the start of April and the beginning of May.

It revealed people in Yorkshire and Humber used different coping strategies when faced with the pandemic and for Sheffielders, a number of groups have been trying to help.

Coping with Covid-19

While 82.5 per cent of women were likely to rely on friends and family for support, just 75 percent of men were likely to do the same. More women also turned to exercise as a coping strategy, with 66.8 per cent of women exercising compared with 52.6 per cent of men.

Despite the lack of access to gyms in Sheffield due to closures in response to Covid-19, the city’s gyms and exercise providers offered residents online advice and home workouts – Sheffield City Trust, for example, posted a number of home workouts for people to try on their website, including one which centres the sofa.

The dataset also looked at the use of work as a coping mechanism. Men in the region showed a higher tendency to rely on work as a way of coping, with 57.6 percent of men reporting doing so compared to 47.3 percent of women. This was different to the national trend, which showed relying on work was relatively equal across most of the UK.

Mental health

Differing levels of anxiety were also evident. When asked how anxious participants felt the day before, 39.4 per cent of women in Yorkshire and Humber said their anxiety levels were high, compared to 32.4 per cent of men.

Those aged 50-64 were the most worried about the effect of coronavirus on their life. People aged 16-34 old showed some of the highest levels of concern and worry about the pandemic across the whole of the UK, with 83.6 pe rcent saying they were either very or somewhat worried.

Efforts to promote mental well-being in Sheffield during lockdown were seen in mental health organisations. Sheffield Mind, a local mental health charity, spoke about the nature of their services in covid19. A spokesperson said: “At the start of lockdown a lot of face-to-face work transferred to phone calls (some Zoom).

“We are delivering between 500-600 hours a week of support in this way.” Their services include a ‘listening line’, which is a number for those aged over 50 who are feeling anxious about coronavirus.

Lockdown gardening

The study also offered an insight into how different regions stayed busy during lockdown. Yorkshire and Humber was clearly developing its green fingers, with the region being one of the most likely across the UK to be gardening in lockdown.

This is likely to reflect, in part, the fact that 93 percent of those surveyed in the region said their house had a private garden.

For those in Sheffield who were practising gardening during lockdown and are council tenants, Sheffield Council announced a return to their annual gardening competition where they ask those living in council accommodation to submit images of their garden.

For advice and tips regarding gardening in the city, visit the Facebook group ‘Sheffield Plant Swap’ which has continued to be a space where gardeners exchange tips during lockdown.

The data shows, then, that divisions regarding people’s experiences with covid-19 exist not just within regional areas but also across them. As the crisis continues and more data is compiled regarding people’s experiences, the reasons behind these differences may become more evident. Further research is necessary to determine what factors are behind the evident differences in experiences of covid-19 between subsections of the population.