Pandemic-related anxiety felt Australia-wide, not just in Victoria

You’re not alone, Victorians. Large numbers of Australians around the nation are feeling the strain from the virus in a serious way.

Australians across the country are reporting feeling negative emotions as the pandemic grinds on, not just in locked-down Victoria, new figures show.

Almost half of respondents to an Australian Bureau of Statistics survey in mid-August said that at least some of the time, they felt nervous, while two in five felt restless or fidgety, or that everything was an effort.

One quarter of respondents felt hopeless while 17 per cent felt so depressed that nothing could cheer them up.

The ABS said the results were consistent across the nation, with no significant differences reported by people in Victoria when compared to the rest of Australia.

Older people appeared vastly more resilient, with people aged 18 to 64 years considerably more likely than those aged 65 and over to have felt negative emotions.

Only 17 per cent of respondents who had experienced one or more of these feelings had discussed them with a doctor or other health professional.

Only one in six survey respondents who reported feeling negative emotions earlier this month sought professional help.

Unsurprisingly, a key difference between Victorians and other Australians was the rate of returning to normal activities.

Overall, almost three in four went shopping in physical retail stores, 55 per cent went to their workplace in person and 57 per cent of parents sent their children to schools or child care facilities, but participation was much lower in Victoria.

Significantly, 58 per cent reported wearing a face mask, compared with 13 per cent in late June.

In Victoria, only one per cent of respondents reported not wearing a face mask while four per cent did not say they were avoiding large social gatherings.