The collateral damage of the pandemic continues: Young adults, as well as Black and Latino people of all ages, describe increasing levels of anxiety, depression and even suicidal thoughts, and increased substance abuse, according to findings reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a research study, U.S. residents reported signs of eroding mental health in response to the toll of coronavirus disease and death, and to the life-changing restrictions imposed by lockdowns.
The researchers claim that the results point to an urgent need for comprehensive and culturally sensitive services for mental health and substance abuse, including telehealth counseling. In the online survey completed by about 5,400 people at the end of June, the prevalence of anxiety symptoms was three times as high as that reported in the second quarter of 2019, and depression was four times as high.
The effects of coronavirus outbreaks were most commonly felt by young adults aged 18 to 24. According to Mark Czeisler, a psychologist at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, nearly 63 percent had symptoms of anxiety or depression. t she attributed to the pandemic and nearly a quarter had her substance abuse, including alcohol, marijuana and prescription drugs, started as aggravated to treat her emotions.
“It is ironic that young adults who are at lower risk than older adults of serious illness caused by Covid-19 have worse mental health symptoms,” Mr Czeisler said.
A survey of about 5,000 people conducted in April, in the earlier days of the pandemic, Mr Czeisler said, suggested that tremors in the mental health firm began to surface.
As early as April, high percentages of respondents reported that they spent more time on screens and less time outside than before the pandemic, which translated into more virtual interactions and much less personal. They noted circumstances for family, school, exercise and work routines, and to their sleep patterns. These are all factors that can contribute to the robustness of mental health.
But why do young adults appear to be breaking down rates much higher than older people?
Mr Czeisler said the team hoped to do more research on those lines. He cited one direction of the survey that could prove particularly luminous: measuring the extent to which people can tolerate uncertainty, or “the ability to accept the unknown, because now there are so many questions, especially for young people, about relative risk, duration of the pandemic and what their futures will look like. ”
In this latest survey, nearly 41 percent generally reported symptoms of at least one adverse reaction, ranging from anxiety and depression to post-traumatic stress disorder. Nearly 11 percent said they had suicidal thoughts in the month leading up to the survey, the largest clusters of which were between Black and Latino people, essential workers and unpaid caregivers for adults. Men were more likely to express such feelings than women were.
The researchers, who largely represent a joint effort between Monash University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said the symptoms were less pronounced in older groups, perhaps an indication that their longer life experience has been beneficial in helping them to drive out the current unrest.
