STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Statistics show rates of depression, anxiety and suicide are currently at an all-time high due to COVID-19 pandemic responses
- According to poll results published in late August, 53% of American adults said their mental health “has been negatively impacted due to worry and stress over the coronavirus”
- 36% report having trouble sleeping, 32% have trouble eating, 12% report increased alcohol consumption and/or substance use and 12% report worsening of chronic health conditions due to worry and stress. Those faring the worst are people sheltering in place, 47% of whom report negative health effects, compared to 37% of those not sheltering in place
- A CDC study found 40.9% of respondents reported anxiety, depression or symptoms of trauma- and stressor-related disorder relating to the pandemic; 13.3% of American adults reported new or increased substance use as a way to manage stress, and 10.7% of adults said they’d seriously contemplated suicide in the past 30 days
- Unpaid caregivers for adults had the highest rate of suicidal ideation at 30.7%, followed by young adults, age 18 to 24 (25.5%) and essential workers (21.7%)