Calls to crisis lines jump in NSW and Victoria as lockdowns linger

Beyond Blue, Lifeline and Kids Helpline all see large increases in calls to their crisis lines as the nation struggles to cope with more lengthy lockdowns

Beyond Blue has seen a 15 per cent increase to call volumes in NSW over the last three weeks of the state’s lockdown compared to the three weeks immediately prior.

The strain on the nation’s mental health of the latest spate of lockdowns is already showing, with calls to crisis lines spiking even beyond the current high Covid-19 baselines.

And children are front and centre of the mental health battle as the pandemic drags on well into its second year.

Beyond Blue has seen a 15 per cent increase to call volumes in NSW over the last three weeks of the state’s lockdown compared to the three weeks immediately prior, new figures reveal.

And in Victoria’s first week of its latest lockdown, its fifth during the pandemic, calls were up 12 per cent on the prior week, the data shows.

Overall calls to Beyond Blue are currently up 30 per cent since before the pandemic, with Lifeline not far behind at 23 per cent.

Lifeline’s latest figures show NSW reporting a 30 per cent jump in calls from June 26 to July 22 compared to the same period pre-Covid in 2019, and a 29 per cent increase for Victoria.

Nationally, Lifeline calls are up 10 per cent on last year in June-July, from 73,970 calls to 81,263 calls. Where they were fielding calls once every 16 minutes in 2019, it is currently once every 13 minutes. For children, Kids Helpline reports that Victorian children especially are experiencing the cumulative effects of multiple lockdowns.

“In the past six months (to June 30) nearly 60 per cent of (a record number of) national contacts relating to issues resulting from the effects of the pandemic came from Victoria,” said Tracy Adams, chief executive of yourtown, which operates Kids Helpline.

“Victoria recorded a 200 per cent increase (in the six months to June 30 over the same period in 2020) in emergency duty of care interventions where counsellors have made contact with police, child safety or ambulance services because a child or young person is deemed to be at imminent risk of harm,” Ms Adams said.

Beyond Blue chief executive Georgie Harman said the nature of people’s stress and anxiety was different now to the start of the pandemic.

“Everything about our lives has changed beyond recognition in the last 19 months,” Mr Harman said. “The structure and stability we all crave has been rocked and in lockdown it has been taken away.”

Ms Harman said people first worried about catching the killer coronavirus, then had to manage financial stress if their job changed or business was affected, and also may have had to deal with home schooling. “On top of that people in lockdown often had great feelings of isolation and loneliness when they couldn’t see friends and family. And there is an overall sense of exhaustion, which has carried through to 2021,” she said.

“Our message is that if you are feeling those things, so are many people. They are completely normal for the circumstances we are living through.”

She urged people to call a support line if they had these feelings, noting small business owners were doing it particularly tough. “You don’t need a formal diagnosis. You don’t need to feel ill. Our counsellors are there for just these situations, understanding the caller and if necessary referring them for further supports.”

National Mental Health Commission chief executive Christine Morgan said every time there was a lockdown or increase in restrictions, stress and anxiety in the community rose, but it was a positive that people were reaching out to support lines in greater numbers.

Lifeline: 13 11 14
Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800