Tue, Nov 07, 2023 page9

• The COVID-19 pandemic is over; our pandemic stress is not

  • By Lisa Jarvis / Bloomberg Opinion
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  Survey after survey tells us that Americans are struggling. The latest, the American Psychological Association’s (APA) annual gauge of stress in the US, reveals that people continue to feel worse than before the COVID-19 pandemic. The question is what to do about it.

  It is no wonder that people are so stressed out: Humans have finite mental resources and they have been decidedly depleted by years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout, plus economic woes and worries about geopolitical upheaval. In the APA survey, which was conducted in August, nearly a quarter of adults reported operating at the highest levels of stress, rating it at least an eight out of 10. Among parents, self-reported stress was so extreme that nearly half said it was “completely overwhelming” on most days and 41 percent reported that it impedes their functioning.

  In the past year or two, much of the focus has been on addressing the declining mental well-being of adolescents and teens. Kids were already struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the alarming data on higher levels of anxiety, depression and thoughts of self-harm during COVID-19 has mobilized everyone from policymakers to educators and parents to do whatever it takes to address kids in crisis.

  Yet we should not forget that adults were also deeply affected by a protracted period of relentless uncertainty, fear, loss and social isolation. The APA’s survey of adults shows that stress levels are highest among those aged 18 to 45, who reported the biggest increases since pre-pandemic times.

  That group also saw a marked increase in chronic health and mental health diagnoses compared with before the pandemic. The pandemic prompted a more open national conversation about mental health and the survey cannot separate out how much the rise could be due to more people seeking help than in the past. Yet the increase was large enough in younger groups — 44 percent of adults aged 34 to 44 reported a mental health diagnosis compared with 31 percent in 2019 — that it is likely a combination of more attention to care and more strain.

  Adults under the age of 45 are also most worried about the economy, with more than 70 percent citing it as a major stressor, compared with just over 50 percent of people in 2019. Parents again seem to be bearing the brunt, with two-thirds reporting they felt consumed by money woes.

  We are not helpless in managing that stress, particularly when it comes to those who say they are experiencing it most intensely. Yale Interdisciplinary Stress Center director Rajita Sinha says she often suggests that people feeling extreme stress should pause and ask themselves: “Where’s the fire?” If there is a real emergency, of course, we should react, but when there is not, it could be grounding to run a basic inventory by asking yourself: “Am I okay? Is my family okay? Who can help?”

  Reaching out for support from a friend or family member is the next step. While it might sound like stating the obvious to say that social connection is a vital part of coping, data suggest we are doing a terrible job at it. In the APA survey, 62 percent of respondents said they do not talk about how they are feeling because they do not want to be a burden, yet two-thirds of those surveyed also said that “they could have used more emotional support than they received.”

  That dovetails with a report from earlier this year, when US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that the US was experiencing an epidemic of loneliness that was as bad for our health as smoking. Recent research found a decline in the amount of time Americans spend engaging with others. Being intentional about rebuilding connections — even something as simple as texting a friend — could help us feel less isolated.

  People could also do a better job of recognizing the sources of their stress and reining in our reactions to them. We cannot control the ominous news giving us a feeling of existential dread, but we can control our exposure to such news, APA associate executive director for practice research and policy Lynn Bufka says. “Figure out how much you need to know in order to make a decision for your life and then turn it off,” she advises.

  Such small changes, performed consistently, might help us to shake off some of the residual effects of several very difficult years — and set us up to better cope with the fresh challenges that seem to keep coming.

  Lisa Jarvis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering biotech, healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry. Previously, she was executive editor of Chemical & Engineering News. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
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