Learn about the current state of mental health in US in adults and children, as well as what can improve emotional well being.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered people’s daily routines, plans and even goals, which has led to a number of mental health issues.
Currently, the pandemic has receded and the diagnosis of COVID-19 no longer causes as many emotions as it did 2-3 years ago.
However, when the problem disappeared, its effects did not – the pandemic was stabilized, but the effects caused by it remain concerning.
I’m writing this article because I am a researcher on anxiety – as well as a bestselling wellness author with about 2 million books sold globally.
Plus I founded the therapist recommended video course called The Anxiety Cure.
I’m a knowledgeable expert on anxiety – and I love to help people to live calmer, happier lives.
While the pandemic has undoubtedly changed everyone’s lives, it has had the greatest impact on children. As Pew Research Center survey shows, 4 in 10 parents said that they feel extremely worried about their children’s mental health.
There was a reason for that. The age of children up to 18 is dedicated to comprehensive formation, including communication and cooperation competencies. Therefore, the interruption of live communication, the lack of meetings with peers, inevitably had negative consequences.
In this way, not only did formation slow down, but children’s activity, creativity, and communication skills also decreased. In some cases, increased lethargy, overweight and even physical health problems have been observed in children due to psychological problems.
Therefore, although distance learning and other activities had their own advantages, they certainly did not avoid disadvantages.
The situation of high school students is also worrying. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, even 37% of respondents said that their mental health was not good during all or most of the pandemic. Data shows that girls were more dissatisfied with their mental health than boys.
Actually, such an indicator is not surprising, because the results of other surveys also show that men do not tend to complain about their psychological health. What is more, many of them have never talked about their mental health with anyone in their life.
What were the negative effects for the health of high school students? Most of them said that they had stopped doing some activities that they were used to doing. Also, they have pointed out a feeling of hopelessness which they felt almost every day for two weeks or sometimes even more.
Of course, the mental health risks posed by the pandemic have not escaped adults either. The global pandemic, high death toll, lost income, uncertainty about the future and isolation were among the reasons for feeling worse.
Pew Research Center, which has already been mentioned above, survey shows that more women (48%) experienced high levels of distress than men (32%). Furthermore, high level anxiety has been experienced by people who have a disability of health conditions that do not allow them to participate fully in work.
Respondents were asked questions related to their status. The answers showed that most of those who experienced high level distress faced eating, sleeping disorders, hopelessness and did not have distress tolerance.
It could seem that the majority of people who live in the United States of America forgot about the pandemic that we faced so recently. However, the effects for people’s mental health caused by COVID-19 did not disappear. Therefore, it manifests itself in various forms and often cannot be controlled without professional help.
Thus, in general, an increase in the number of people facing mental health challenges can be observed. The great news is that not only women, but men as well more and more often do not hesitate to ask for help and want to better understand their own thinking and behavior. Until recently, it was very unusual and stereotypically considered even shameful.
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