‘It's like a rollercoaster’: Sadiq Khan opens up about impact of coronavirus pandemic on his mental health

‘There is no handbook of how to deal with Covid-19,’ London mayor says when discussing how he talks about mental wellbeing with family

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Sadiq Khan has spoken openly about the way in which the coronavirus pandemic has impacted his mental health, describing it as a “rollercoaster”.

On Tuesday 14 April, the London mayor took part in an Instagram live interview with Glamour magazine.

During his appearance, the politician talked candidly about how difficult it can be to “keep our spirits up” in the current climate.

Khan acknowledged that he is “lucky” as “unlike millions of Londoners, I have a decent-sized home, I have a dog, I have my family and we get on most of the time.

“But of course, it is thoroughly bleak when you hear about people who have lost their lives. It’s heartbreaking hearing that people were not able to say goodbye to loved ones who died from Covid-19.”

Khan explained that an important aspect of taking care of his mental wellbeing is communicating with his family.

“I have got to keep my mental health positive and part of that is talking to my family and I am lucky because I get to speak to other leaders around the world to discuss how they are managing the situation,” he said.

“My advice to everyone is to think about anyone in your peer group and ask questions, ask how they are coping. We all have to find ways we can cope.”

Khan stated that people should try not to feel “scared” when sharing their “vulnerabilities” with others.

“If you are feeling down say you are feeling down,” he said. “What that does is it encourages others to speak and no one is superhuman.”

The mayor added that he vocalises how he is feeling with his wife and daughters.

“It’s like a rollercoaster,” he said. “It’s tough, being isolated physically, so we are honest with each other. We all make mistakes; I’ve made mistakes and it’s important to recognise that.

“There is no handbook of how to deal with Covid-19 or social distancing. We need to talk about what we do to keep our mental health strong.”

During his interview with Glamour magazine, Khan also spoke about the increase in numbers of people experiencing domestic violence while in lockdown.

“We’ve seen phone lines in our country rocketing with people who are suffering domestic abuse and domestic violence,” Khan said.

“If anybody’s in danger ring 999. The call handlers are equipped to deal with your call, or 111 if it is not an emergency. You can ring the other numbers there are, 0800 2000 247 [National Domestic Violence Helpline] — there is help there.”