A Third of Americans Now Show Signs of Clinical Anxiety or Depression

A third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression (alternative source), Census Bureau data shows, the most definitive and alarming sign yet of the psychological toll exacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Washington Post reports: When asked questions normally used to screen patients for mental health problems, 24 percent showed clinically significant symptoms of major depressive disorder and 30 percent 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. How Americans responded to the question “How often have you been bothered by feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?” Someone who answered “several days” or “more than half the days” would need to show other symptoms to screen positive for clinical depression. The 2013-2014 study reflects symptoms over a two-week period, while the 2020 survey reflects symptoms over a one-week period. […] 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.