Coronavirus like ‘a poisonous fire hydrant’ of anxiety. Crisis line calls up 1,000%
The coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on Americans’ mental health, media outlets reported.
Around half of Americans reported that the pandemic has negatively impacted their mental health, The Washington Post reported, citing a Kaiser Family Foundation poll. An emotional distress hotline had a 1,000% increase in April compared to the same time last year, according to the news outlet. Around 20,000 people texted the hotline.
Other surveys report a similar increase in anxiety and depression.
Nearly 55% of respondents in a survey by the Benenson Strategy Group said the crisis was affecting their mental health.
“We’re used to dealing with sick people and seeing terrible things, but what’s devastating with COVID is the sheer volume. It’s like drinking from a poisonous fire hydrant,” Flavia Nobay, an emergency room doctor, told The Washington Post.
Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, a Texas nonprofit, projected in models that an additional 4,000 people could die by suicide and 4,800 from drug overdoses if unemployment rises as much as during the Great Recession - 5%. Suicides could increase by 18,000 and drug overdose deaths by more than 22,000 if unemployment increases 20% , similar to the Great Depression in the 1930s, according to the institute.
A new report to be released on Friday is expected to “show that unemployment rose by 16.1% in April,” The Wall Street Journal reported. The job losses would contribute to the highest unemployment rate on record since 1948, the outlet reported.
Attention has also turned to the psychological effects of the pandemic on health care workers after Lorna Breen, an emergency room doctor in Manhattan, died by suicide last week, USA Today reported.
“Health care professionals — physicians, nurses — already had high levels of stress and high rates of burnout,” Colin West, an internist who has studied physician well-being at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota told USA Today. “A pandemic like this is going to add strain to an already strained group of workers.”
Tess Brigham, a psychotherapist, wrote in a CNBC article that her millennial clients, who comprise 90% of her practice, said they felt “paralyzed” by the crisis and “loneliness from social isolation.”
Brigham recommended tips for protecting your mental health including reflecting on your feelings, going outside, adhering to old routines, embracing uncertainties, focusing only on what you can control, staying connected, and seeking professional help.
The World Health Organization released a list of recommendations for people to manage stress and maintain mental and psychological health.
“Minimize watching, reading or listening to news that cause you to feel anxious or distressed; seek information only from trusted sources and mainly to take practical steps to prepare your plans and protect yourself and loved ones,” the WHO wrote. “Seek information updates at specific times during the day once or twice. The sudden and near-constant stream of news reports about an outbreak can cause anyone to feel worried.”
This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Coronavirus like ‘a poisonous fire hydrant’ of anxiety. Crisis line calls up 1,000%."