According to a new survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, about one third of Americans show signs of clinical mental health disorders as a result of the enforced lockdown over the past months.
In early to mid-May, about one million households were contacted with 42,000 responses about how the coronavirus lockdown has affected employment, finances, and health, among other subjects.
Some of the key findings from the survey:
- Responding to questions used for evaluating mental health issues, 24 percent showed signs of clinical depressive disorder and 30 percent for anxiety disorders.
- The response to a particular question about depression showed a 100 percent increase compared to the same question asked in a 2014 survey.
- New York, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, was the 12th highest state in terms of percentage of these mental health symptoms. In Mississippi, a staggering 50 percent of those polled said they were suffering anxiety and depression. Iowa showed the lowest, but it was still with about 25 percent of citizens reporting significant symptoms.
- Among young adults and women earning under $25,000 a year, the rates of depression and anxiety were significantly higher. Almost two-thirds of those struggling financially said they were suffering from constant anxiety.
- In Ohio, which has been under one of the most restrictive lockdowns of any state, dramatic spikes in calls to crisis lines continue. In the city of Dayton, for example, a crisis hotline had more than 1,200 calls in less than a month. Drinking problems, the inability to deal with stress, and a doubling of accidental drug overdoses were among the issues most reported.
This data from the recent Census Bureau survey mirrors previous studies reported in the Trends Journal, including the 2 April poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation showing nearly half of respondents experiencing impaired mental health and the 11 May data published by the American foundation for Suicide Prevention, which showed over half reporting more anxiety and depression than before the shutdowns.
TREND FORECAST: As economic conditions and nations sink deeper into the “Greatest Depression,” substance abuse and suicide rates will sharply rise.
Also, as forecast, the homeless crisis will greatly worsen, and crime, from the top of the corporate ladder to the man-on-the-street, will escalate. As Gerald Celente says, “When people lose everything and have nothing left to lose, they lose it.”