“We have seen a huge demand for services. The NHS is doing the best we can with the resources available, but it may still not be enough as time goes forward.”

Dr Benjamin Janaway, 32, treats seriously sick patients at a London hospital and has battled severe depression and anxiety himself for the past decade. He said: “Mental health awareness has been improving, great strides have been made at reducing stigma and a lot more are coming forward to seek help. “But at the same time it seems mental health has been getting worse.

“We have seen a huge demand for services. The NHS is doing the best we can with the resources available, but it may still not be enough as time goes forward.”

Mental health advocate Dr Janaway helps treat psychiatric patients who have been hospitalised for a range of illnesses.

He said: “Mental health affects different people in different ways. For some lockdown appears to have actually been helpful in reducing stress but for others it has been very hard to get support.

“As we emerge from lockdown we are seeing many more problems related to drugs and alcohol and a lot of people are becoming very anxious.

“We may see large swathes of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, especially in health workers on the frontline. These conditions can be very complicated and take a long time to treat because of the level of demand and stigma.

“Suffering can happen to anyone, regardless of wealth or standing.

“We need to learn to normalise that suffering is part of life, but also encourage people to seek help when it happens.”

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