The survey, published on Thursday, was conducted on 5,412 adults across the country between June 24 and June 30. Of those, 40.9 percent “reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition,” 30.9 percent reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, 26.3 percent reported symptoms of pandemic-related trauma, and 13.3 percent began or increased to use substances to cope with pandemic-related stress.
Young adults, racial and ethnic minorities, essential workers, and unpaid adult caregivers are among the groups who have “experienced disproportionately worse mental health outcomes, increased substance use and elevated suicidal ideation,” the CDC said. They were also among those who reported having suicidal thoughts in the 30 days leading up to the survey.
“They’re watching their world crumble, and probably struggling to imagine a future...what is the world going to look like? What is college going to look [like]? What is employment going to look like if they were hoping to enter the labor force?” Mueller said.
Nadine Kaslow, a professor at the psychiatry at the Emory University School of Medicine, said that the data showcases American’s need for mental help and that being able to provide these individuals with the mental health care that they need will be the most important and vital part to tackling the mental health crisis that is running rampant in the country amid the pandemic.
“Those people whose symptoms of anxiety or depression, or substance use or suicidal ideations are really interfering with their functions, where the symptoms are extreme,” Kaslow said.
“No matter how tired and burn out we each are, we need to check in with people, to see how they’re doing, to let people know that we care,” she added.
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