Shutdowns Spur Mental Health Crisis in US, Experts Say

A U.S. flag is lit by the setting sun in front of the Church of the Redeemer next to the Mount Sinai Hospital in Queens, New York City, on April 15, 2020. The CCP virus pandemic is likely to have a "profound and pervasive impact" on global mental health as billions struggle to cope with isolated living and anxiety spikes, experts warned. Johannes Eisele/AFP/AFP via Getty Images

A basket of worries—spurred by anxieties related to job security, financial instability, grief from death, or loneliness—are plaguing an increasing number of Americans living amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its shutdown measures.

Among 5,412 Americans surveyed at the end of June, 41 percent reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition, according to an Aug. 14 Morbidity and Mortality report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The number is higher among younger adults between the ages of 18 and 24, with 75 percent of respondents reporting experiencing at least one condition.