I mean; it’s been some year.
I don’t know about you, but I feel like we will all, globally, on some level, develop some sort of collective PTSD after the absolute s**t show that was 2020, no?
And if you are feeling stressed, mums, please spare a thought for all the 30something dads, who apparently are feeling more stressed out than the rest of us right now.
According to a new survey by insurer Aviva Life and Pensions, men in their 30s with children have suffered the sharpest increase in stress as anxiety levels almost doubled since the outbreak of Covid-19.
In fact, as many as one in three men now feel stressed compared with just one in ten pre-pandemic, according to the research.
Shockingly, the Aviva survey found that over a million stress-related sick days have been taken since coronavirus struck, and right now, a whopping 42 percent of people admit they suffer from anxiety, compared with 24 percent pre-Covid.
The survey revealed that family health, isolation and loss of income are the nation’s top three worries.
“I think a lot of fathers have found themselves in a caring role that they hadn’t been in before and realised how stressful it was,” Marc Stanley, a marine surveyor based in Roscommon, explained to the Irish Independent.
Mr Stanley was employed as a rail mechanic with Irish Rail when he developed a heart condition, which meant he could not return to his job.
“I ended up, because of my health issue, at home with the kids,” he said.
“A lot of people, particularly men, are out working full-time and I think when they got stuck at home and the schools were closed, they couldn’t cope,” he added.
Stress among fathers in their 30s rose from 13 percent before the pandemic to 36 percent nowadays.
Pre-Covid, stress was most pronounced among 18- to 24-year-olds, but this has now shifted to 35- to 44-year-olds.
Anxiety was worst among 25- to 34-year-olds at 38 percent pre-Covid, and now stands at 52 percent.
Remote working was not a huge worry factor across the board. Some 34 percent said they had adapted well to working from home and 21 percent said it had been a positive impact on their work-life balance. Only 10 percent said it had a negative impact.
However, 16 percent said they are working longer hours and this was highest among men in their 30s with children.
