CENSUS BUREAU: A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression

A third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression, Census Bureau data shows, the most definitive and alarming sign yet of the psychological toll exacted by the coronavirus pandemic, reports The San Francisco Chronicle.

When asked questions normally used to screen patients for mental health problems, 24% showed clinically significant symptoms of major depressive disorder and 30% showed symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.

The findings suggest a huge jump from before the pandemic. For example, on one question about depressed mood, the percentage reporting such symptoms was double that found in a 2014 national survey, according to The Chronicle.

The troubling statistics were released last week in a tranche of data from the Census Bureau, notes The Chronicle. The agency launched an emergency weekly survey of U.S. households at the end of April to measure the pandemic's effects on employment, housing, finances, education and health. In the most recent data release, 1 million households were contacted between May 7 and 12, and more than 42,000 responded.

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Buried within that 20-minute survey, U.S. officials included four questions taken nearly word-for-word from a form used by doctors to screen patients for depression and anxiety. Those answers provide a real-time window into the country's collective mental health after three months of fear, isolation, soaring unemployment and continuing uncertainty.

New York, which had the worst coronavirus outbreak in the country, ranked 12th nationwide in terms of share of adults showing symptoms. Nearly half of Mississippians screened positive for anxiety or depression - a staggering number. By contrast, in Iowa, just over a quarter screened positive.

Some groups have been hit harder than others. Rates of anxiety and depression were far higher among younger adults, women and the poor. The worse scores in young adults were especially notable, given that the virus has been more likely to kill the elderly or leave them critically ill.

Those results reflect a deepening of existing trends: rising depression, stress and suicide among young adults. "It's been a problem many have been studying with no clear answers - whether it's social media or the way this generation was reared or just a greater willingness to talk about their problems," said Maria Oquendo, a professor psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. "What's worrying is the effect this situation is clearly having on young adults."

Look, there was no reason for any of this.

As I point out in an earlier post,  Panic for Nothing: Now Even the CDC Admits COVID-19 is Not a Major Threat, there was no reason to promote the fear that was promoted. As I point out in the post, I called out the fearmongering in real-time.

Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, for starters, need to be called before Congress and investigated. I believe, along with others, they have committed crimes against humanity. It is only there motives we don't know. But they have created a massive amount of anxiety in the country for no reason, amidst other destruction.

And I might add. the anxiety and destruction was further promoted by state and local officials such as California Gov.  Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and San Francisco Mayor London Breed. They should all be held accountable for their tyranical, non-scientific orders to lock down their jurisdictions.

America must never forget and never allow this to happen again.

-RW