BY EMMA ANVARI 

Young women are amongst the most vulnerable to highly-adverse mental health impacts due to COVID-19 restrictions, a study has found. 

The research, conducted by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, has found the mental health of already at-risk women - those aged between 16 and 24 - is 11 percent worse than before the pandemic.

Small business owner Emily Sand* said she has “been riding a wave of emotions” since losing her job in the first lockdown.

“I’m not anxious or depressed but I feel a sense of failure, [and the second lockdown] feels like I’m being punished,” she said.

“I just feel numb to everything.”

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ National Health Survey, women in the 18 to 24 year-old age bracket were already at high risk prior to the pandemic, as this demographic reported the highest rate of psychological distress in the 2017-2018 period.

Monash University third year student Katarina Martinic, who has suffered from anxiety for a long time, said she feels “depleted” and “deprived of the experience” of being young due to the Melbourne lockdown. 

“I think women are feeling the lockdown more because when you think about the category of jobs that are still going on, it is trades and men tend to occupy those fields, and they get to leave the house,” Ms Martinic said.

“When you look at casual positions, I think you’ll find women occupy the majority of those roles, which means financial instability.

“I also think there’s more of an emphasis on the caregiver role for women with families and, worse yet, there’s the issue of domestic violence.

“I think it comes down to issues that were already in society but have now been enhanced and amplified by COVID-19.”

A national mental health survey, led by Monash University and conducted at the peak of the first wave, found people who had lost their jobs were 50 per cent more likely to ‘clinically significant symptoms’ of depression and other mental health challenges, than those who remained employed. 

Monash University first year student Emma Walker* said she “was really stable coming into this year”.  

However, she lost her job during the stage four lockdown, which caused her increased isolation, bringing her anxiety and depression back to the surface.

“All of the coping strategies you’ve been taught in the past like exercise, catching up with friends, and doing the things you love are just not possible,” Ms Walker said.

She feels the pressure directed at young women from social media influencers to ‘“self-care, glow up and self-improve” during lockdown has also contributed to her poor mental health in isolation.

“Because we’re women our bodies change a lot as we get older...yet we’re told by society that gaining weight is something we should be really scared of and it’s demonised – especially right now,”  she said.

 “Sometimes you can’t really [‘glow up’] because getting through the day is your achievement.

“You don’t need to have a diagnosed issue for [lockdown] to be difficult,” Ms Walker added.  

* surnames changed on request