A new study by a team of researchers from Tulane University, based on Google Trends, looked at mental health trends in the U.S. over the months of the imposed lockdowns. Lead researcher Michael Hoerger, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Tulane, described what he called a “mental health tsunami” as a result of burnout, isolation, and unemployment.
As reported on Tulane University’s website, the research team “found a major jump in web searches related to anxiety, panic attacks and treatments for panic attacks, especially remote and self-care techniques, in the weeks following the pandemic declaration.”
The study was first published on 13 August in the journal Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy.
Professor Hoerger stated, “Our analyses from shortly after the pandemic declaration are the tip of the iceberg. Over time… this will likely include more depression, PTSD, community violence, suicide, and complex bereavement.”
This recent study confirms previous reports looking at the same issue. On 13 July, David Sbarra, PhD in clinical psychology and Professor at the University of Arizona, commenting on the mental health pressures caused by the lockdowns, stated, “We’ve reached a bit of a mental health breaking point. We’re stressed, isolated, lonely, burned out, and more depressed and anxious than we’ve been in a long time.”
He added that data from the Census Bureau in May showed almost one-third of all Americans were reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety.
(Note: According to U.S. News & World Report, on 27 May, the Census Bureau study stated, “34.4% of adults reported symptoms of either anxiety or depression…. with 30% reporting signs of anxiety and 24.1% reporting symptoms of depression.”)
Dr. Sbarra said, “It’s not hard to see what’s driving this distress. We have mass unemployment and economic uncertainty. With the closures of schools, child care centers and summer camps, many of us are pulled between the worlds of work and caregiving in ways that were unimaginable just a few months ago. Older adults and others at the greatest risk are increasingly isolated from their loved ones, making loneliness especially common. On top of all this, the U.S. is facing an epic failure in its ability to get the virus under control and, as a consequence, uncertainty and despair are looming large in our everyday consciousness.”
Summing up the traumatic effects of the extended lockdowns, Dr. Sbarra concludes, “Some experts are beginning to argue that one of our next big challenges in facing COVID will be to “flatten the mental health curve.”
