Abstract
The fear of getting COVID‐19 and of loved ones dying, anxiety about how to pay the bills after being laid off and feeling isolated due to restrictions are some of the emotions Americans are experiencing daily during this pandemic, say officials of an online therapy organization in a new report released last week.
The fear of getting COVID‐19 and of loved ones dying, anxiety about how to pay the bills after being laid off and feeling isolated due to restrictions are some of the emotions Americans are experiencing daily during this pandemic, say officials of an online therapy organization in a new report released last week.
This report analyzes over 1 million responses to the U.S. Census Bureau's and the National Center for Health Statistics' (NCHS's) Household Pulse Survey, which has been ongoing throughout much of the pandemic, making this the largest dataset available about how mental health has changed during this time, Keith Cushner, chief marketing officer of OneCare Media, the parent company of Online Therapy, told MHW.
This analysis covers data from April 23, 2020, to Oct. 26, 2020, the most recently available data, officials said.
The survey noted that COVID‐19 represents the first major pandemic that younger people have experienced as adults. Older people have experienced the Asian flu (H2N2) in 1957 and 1958, the beginning of the AIDS pandemic in 1981, the swine flu (H1N1) pandemic in 2019 and other less deadly pandemics.
Key findings
A total of 36.81% of Americans reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depression — a 235% increase from 2019.
Young people are experiencing the most struggles with mental health, with nearly half (46.69%) of those aged 18 to 29 reporting symptoms of anxiety and/or depression.
Females have struggled with anxiety and depression (40.63% reporting symptoms) more than men (32.72%).
Those in the Non‐Hispanic, other and multiple races group reported the most symptoms of anxiety and/or depression (46%), whereas white (34.88%) and Asian (31.60%) respondents reported the least.
Individuals with less than a high school diploma reported the most anxiety and depression symptoms (44.87%), whereas those with a bachelor's degree or higher reported the least symptoms (31.07%).
Symptoms very greatly by state. Respondents in Louisiana reported the most symptoms of anxiety and/or depression (41.04%), whereas North Dakota reported the least (29.74%).
The survey found that many southern states, such as Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, and western states, such as Nevada, Oregon and California, have the highest reported numbers of mental health struggles.
Meanwhile, midwestern states, such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska, have notably lower numbers of reported symptoms of anxiety and depression as compared to the rest of the United States.
Large annual increases
Cushner noted that while he had expected anxiety and depression symptoms to increase during the pandemic, he was shocked to see such a large increase compared to 2019. “Over one‐third of respondents (36.81%) reported symptoms consistent with generalized anxiety disorder and/or major depressive disorder,” he said. “This is clearly a huge issue for our nation that is being somewhat overlooked, in my opinion.”
He added, “I was also surprised to see that the youngest age group — 18 to 29 — reported the most anxiety and/or depression symptoms, while older age groups reported far fewer symptoms. While younger people generally tend to face the most anxiety and depression, I expected older groups to report higher numbers given that they are the most susceptible to death from COVID‐19.”