Day in and day out, the mainstream media report on COVID cases and death numbers, sending out frightening messages for the masses to cower under. But barely is there mention of the physical and mental destruction of humanity that has resulted from the draconian lockdown orders imposed by politicians.
The website “Sermo” was created by physicians to provide medical doctors worldwide with an open forum for feedback and opinions. It is currently accessed by doctors in 150 countries. Its twice-weekly polls on physicians’ issues have been the subject of articles in Forbes, The Washington Post, Time magazine, and many other news sources.
According to a survey published on Sermo on 26 January, 86 percent of over 3,000 doctors from more than 20 countries voiced concerns that mental health disorders from continued lockdown policies, particularly depression and severe anxiety, will continue getting worse even after the strength of the coronavirus declines.
Two out of every three doctors responding to the survey “are unsure whether the U.S. and world will return to normal following the vaccine rollout.”
Almost 80 percent of the doctors “are concerned about the long-term impact to the world economy.”
An article published on 10 February by the World Socialist website, after citing the Sermo survey results, lists additional data showing the alarming mental health issues caused by the lockdowns:
- A December 2020 report by the CDC shows 42 percent reporting depression or anxiety. This marks an 11-percent increase from the year before.
- Results of a 7 December Gallup Poll titled, “Americans’ Mental Health Ratings Sink to New Low” concluded that “Americans’ latest assessment of their mental health is worse than it has been at any point in the last two decades (even worse than after 9/11 or the 2008 economic meltdown).”
- A New York Times article on 9 December titled, “The Hidden ‘Fourth Wave’ of the Pandemic” notes that “America hasn’t begun to face this year’s mental health crisis.” The article stated, “It’s dark, we’re stuck inside, and we’re isolated from friends and family. Politics is fevered, the economy continues to struggle, and the coronavirus rages on. Many of us may be at a breaking point.”
- “Of the 3,800 members of Body Politic, an online community for long-term COVID-19 survivors, 85 percent experience some kind of cognitive dysfunction, and 81 percent report neurological symptoms.”
The WSWS article noted that when the coronavirus outbreak hit, “Increasing uncertainty, financial instability and the loss of social connections have led to a staggering decline in mental health. In the U.K., for example, reports of depression and severe anxiety among young people aged 5-16 increased by 50 percent.”
Hitting the Young Hard
As reported in yesterday’s New York Times, “In the United States, a quarter of 18- to 24-year-olds said they had seriously considered suicide.” A French survey found that 10 percent of 70,000 students had thought of committing suicide, and over 25 percent suffered depression. In Italy, the Times article noted that hospitalizations of young Italians who harmed themselves or attempted suicide increased 30 percent.
TREND FORECAST: While the young are getting hit hard mentally and financially, we maintain our forecast that their loss of income, enjoyment, job opportunities, and outlook for a dire future will spark the “Youth Revolution,” one of our Top 10 Trends for 2021. Again, as we have been reporting, one of the key elements that will spark their uprising against the establishment is income inequality… “Off With Their Heads, 2.0.”
TREND FORECAST: As the spirits of the young decline, on-trend marketers and those in the entertainment business that create new looks, sounds, and styles that are new and uplifting will reap great rewards.
What are they? What do the youth want to see, touch, feel, and hear? The Trends Research Institute is compiling a list of “must-haves” that will be key elements of the Roaring 2021s and beyond.