One set of statistics is blasting upward. Another group of numbers is about to rise. They may seem to have nothing to do with each other â but in truth, they are related as we head into 2021, and they mean this:
Itâs time to get good at talking about mental health.
The numbers rising fast are those that measure Americansâ chronic stress during the pandemic. Depression and anxiety are rampant: A Census Bureau survey last month revealed nearly one in four New Yorkers reported feeling anxiety for at least half of the previous week, and 13.5% also reported feelings of depression. Those results mirror several other reports, and health experts fear that as vaccines help us transition into a new normal, post-traumatic stress disorder â especially for health care providers who have been fighting Covid-19 since March â may become an acute problem, too.