How has the COVID-19 Pandemic impacted our mental health?
El Paso, Texas — May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which makes it a good time to look back at how the COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted our mental health.
While researchers said it's still too soon to know about the pandemic's long-term mental health impacts, they say there are some troubling early signs.
A study by British researchers found young people between the ages of 16 and 24 experienced more symptoms of depression and anxiety during the pandemic and mental health issues among adolescents were rising even before the pandemic began.
A recent New York Times article reported that both major depressive episodes and suicide rates increased by around 60 percent between 2007 and 2019.
In addition, the article stated that many suicidal teens are now having to stay in hospital emergency rooms because there's not enough space at mental health treatment facilities to take them all in.
There's also growing evidence that the pandemic has traumatized many people who've had to deal with the deaths of people close to them and the health effects from the COVID-19 virus.
The CEO of the American Psychological Association, Arthur Evans, said we're experiencing a mental health tsunami from the pandemic that will only increase the need for mental health services in the coming years.
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