The Coronavirus Blues
The first half of 2020 has brought unprecedented changes in social constructs, education, and financial status, just to name a few. The worldwide coronavirus epidemic has affected and continues to affect every citizen of the globe, regardless of fame, status, or wealth. For the average family, COVID-19 meant kids no longer attended brick-and-mortar school, job loss or changes brought financial strain, and social distancing dictated event cancellations and stay-at-home isolation.
New research reported by Science Daily reveals a distinct trend of coronavirus-associated blues – psychological distress – in the US adult population. A survey by the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health showed a significant increase in adults reporting psychological distress in April 2020 as compared to 2018. Older adults (over age 55) with psychological distress went from 3.8% to 7.3%, almost doubling since 2018. Young adults (18-29) reporting distress jumped from 3.7% in 2018 to a whopping 24% in April 2020.
While this research certainly sounds depressing, there is good news in the knowledge. Educators, health-care workers, counselors, and employers can use this information to create intervention and treatment programs for helping our population recover. And we can all strive to have more grace and empathy for one another as we head into the second half of this anomalous year.
MBJ
By Terissa Michele Miller, MS Psy
Check out the original research:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200603132550.htm
