COVID issues taking toll on mental health

If you are struggling, readers, please reach out for help

Depression is a silent monster.

It’s hard to face it, harder still to push it back and feels almost impossible to understand it, whether you are personally experiencing it or watching a loved one suffer from it.

In the best of times, depression is a challenge. But right now, it’s simply brutal.

With the pandemic and resulting economic crisis, mental health issues are on the rise.

The World Health Organization notes, “Mental health consequences are likely to be present for longer and peak later than the actual pandemic. Suicide is likely to become a more pressing concern, as the pandemic spreads and has longer-term effects on the general population, the economy and vulnerable groups.”

For many people right now, the pressure is immense. How do you juggle work or finding a new job with back to school concerns and online learning? How do you keep food on the table and a roof over your family’s head, all while keeping COVID-19 at bay?

It’s taking a toll.

Look at these statistics from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey done from June 24 to 30:

• 31% of the respondents said they had “symptoms of anxiety or depression.”

• 26% reported trauma and stress-related disorders caused by the outbreak.

• 40% reported struggling with mental health or substance abuse.

• 11% of adults had seriously considered suicide in the past 30 days.

• 25% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 say they’ve considered suicide because of COVID-19.

• The number of Americans reporting anxiety symptoms is triple the number at this time last year.

When we have an injured arm, we go to the doctor. If we have an unexplained ache in our bodies, the doctor checks it out.

The same rules need to apply when our hearts and our souls hurt, when anxiety and depression take center stage.

If you need it, get help, readers – and there are a variety of places to start. Here’s a list from the CDC:

• Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990 (press 2 for Spanish), or text TalkWithUs for English or Hablanos for Spanish to 66746.

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273TALK (8255) for English, 1-888-628-9454 for Spanish

• SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and TTY 1-800-487-4889

And, readers, reach out to your friends and family. Make those phone calls, check in with people and let them know you care. Arrange for socially distanced fun, like breakfast picnics in the park or a late evening walk together, and help maintain connections. Now more than ever, those moments can make all the difference.