‘I couldn’t hide from it any more’: lockdowns drove Chantelle to the brink, and she wasn’t alone

A newly published study has found women and LGBTQ+ people, like Chantelle Fogg, were more likely to experience chronically elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety during the pandemic. Photograph: Dan Peled/The Guardian

In 2020 Chantelle Fogg was 23 and the primary carer for her teenage brother. She had been stood down without pay from her job in hospitality and was in a marriage that was breaking down.

“I had put up with [a lot] for [many] years … and it wasn’t until I was at home all the time, and it was in my face and I couldn’t hide from it any more, that I decided that I’d had enough,” she said.