NAMI has reported a 65% jump in HelpLine calls, callbacks and emails for the period of March 1 to April 30 from last year’s numbers in the same time span. (“As calls to crisis hotlines spike amid the coronavirus, those who respond feel the strain,” USA Today)
A survey from the CDC and the Census Bureau found an increase in the numbers of adults with anxiety and depression. The study found that the percentage of adults with symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder increased from 36.4% to 41.5% from August 2020 to February 2021. (Newsweek)
A June 2020 survey revealed “nearly half (49%) of Americans between the ages of 18-29 exhibited symptoms of anxiety or depression.” (NAMI)
“More than 42% of people surveyed by the US Census Bureau in December reported symptoms of anxiety or depression in December, an increase from 11% the previous year.” (“How scientists are tracking a surge in depression: Researchers are using huge data sets to link changes in mental health to coronavirus-response measures,” Nature)
“A wave of psychological stress unique in its nature and proportions is bearing down on an already-ramshackle American mental-health-care system, and at the moment, Taylor [Steven Taylor, a psychiatrist at the University of British Columbia and the author of The Psychology of Pandemics] told me, “I don’t think we’re very well prepared at all.” (“This Is Not a Normal Mental-Health Disaster,” The Atlantic)
“Mental health experts are now bracing for what [Dr. Tom] Insel calls a ‘mental health tsunami.’ They’re anticipating a steep rise in the diseases of isolation—suicides, opioid abuse, domestic violence and depression—that will unfold over the next few months and could stretch on for years.” (“The Mental Health Toll from the Coronavirus Could Rival that of the Disease Itself,” Newsweek)
“Among those with children under age 6, 65% reported their children suffered behavior problems and regression. The most common problems cited were increased irritability, sleep issues and separation anxiety. Some respondents also reported their children wept inconsolably, the researchers found….” (“Italian Survey Finds Irritability, Anxiety in Locked-Down Kids,” Seattle Times)
“Four in 10 adults said in a recent Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) poll that worry and stress related to the coronavirus has had a negative impact on their mental health. (“US ill-prepared for coronavirus-fueled mental health crisis,” The Hill)
“In early polling by my organization, the American Psychiatric Association, one-third of Americans said the coronavirus was having a serious effect on their mental health. Subsequent polls from other organizations have shown increases in that number. Crisis hotlines have reported an extraordinary rise in calls, which are the canary in the coal mine for the devastation this pandemic is having on Americans’ mental well-being.” (“In the face of Covid-19, the U.S. needs to change how it deals with mental illness,” Stat News)
““I’m hearing a lot of grief and loss,” said Lauren Hunter, a counselor who works in two public schools in Los Angeles as part of the Cedars-Sinai Share & Care program, which provides mental health services to at-risk students in 30 county schools….” (“In a World ‘So Upside Down,’ the Virus Is Taking a Toll on Young People’s Mental Health,” New York Times)
