Half of Brits '˜have felt anxiety over Donald Trump'

Just under half of Britons have felt some level of anxiety surrounding the US election and Donald Trump's rise to the presidency.

By The Newsroom Tuesday, 7th February 2017, 8:02 am Updated Tuesday, 7th February 2017, 8:05 am

Donald Trump as just under half of Britons have felt some level of anxiety surrounding the US election and Trump's rise to the presidency. Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Meanwhile, a new poll conducted on behalf of the Mental Health Foundation also found that two in five Brits (43 per cent) have felt anxiety in relation to Brexit.

The survey, conducted on 1,700 people, found that 49 per cent of British adults reported experiencing anxiety specifically in relation to the US election and following presidency of Donald Trump, with 29 per cent saying they have experienced a “fair or great deal” of anxiety.

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A third (33 per cent) of women said they were feeling a “fair or great deal of anxiety” about politics from over the pond compared to 24 per cent of men.

And younger people seemed to be more affected, with 38 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 saying they had experienced a “fair or great deal of anxiety” compared to around a quarter of people from older age groups.

The Mental Health Foundation said that since the EU referendum, it has seen a five fold increase to the number of people visiting its online anxiety support page compared to before the Brexit vote.

The charity added that Google search trend data has also shown a rise in the number of people searching for “anxiety” or “anxiety help”.

It called on ministers to do more to ensure that people have more mental health support online.

Mark Rowland, director of the charity, said: “Most of us have smartphones now and we naturally seek support and advice online when we’re worried about something.

“It is difficult to establish direct links between people experiencing anxiety and specific world events. Anxiety is future focussed so it makes sense that when many are feeling concerned about world events outside of their control that we would see a surge in people searching for help with anxiety online.

“There are a number of things we can do in response - including taking a break from the news and/or social media if it is making us feel anxious.

“However, there is also an important lesson for government - that more people are seeking help online and we need to ensure that appropriate resources are available.