American psychological association. Joining us to talk about that associations latest survey, on stress in the time of covid19. Dr. Evans, welcome to the program. Guest thank you, led to be here. Host this is glad to be here. Host tell us why you did this survey initially, and what you found different this time around. Guest we have done the stress 2017. Rica survey since we know that stress is related to a lot of our physical outcomes as well as Mental Health outcomes. We have been tracking on that, and since the pandemic, we have how doing surveys to see our stress levels are being affected by this pandemic. Host the survey is available at apa. Org. Into a numberlves of very current issues, including the aftermath of the killing of george floyd on may 12, the protests and the disturbances and unrest in cities across the country. Tell us about that. Guest we did ask about that, and what we found is that about 60 of americans are concerned about racial discrimination, and have concerns about some of the reports around Police Brutality and communities of color, African Americans in particular in communities of color, African Americans in particular. African americans are feeling a significant amount of stress that has gone up over the past several months. We first asked that question back in may, about 42 of africanamericans reported they were feeling stress related to racial dissemination. We have seen a steady increase, to about 67 of people reporting that. Finally, racial discrimination. We have seen a steady increase, to about six to 7 of people reporting that 67 of people reporting that. We also found that an equal proportion of people are hopeful that the protests and the attention being paid to this is going to lead to meaningful change. I should point out that about an equal proportion of people are also taking steps themselves to address Racial Injustice and inequality, and doing things like learning or having conversations. People are very engaged, generally on this issue. Host when you ask about stress, what are the most common manifestations people tell you about . Guest we look at it in two ways. What are the things people are stressed about . How does that play out in peoples lives . What we know is that there are a variety of things that are causing people stress, and that has changed somewhat as we have gone into the pandemic. Generally speaking, economic stress is very prominent for people, and we have seen that during this pandemic. We see a lot of stress right now, related to concerns about contracting or getting the coronavirus. We are seeing stress related to the governments response to that. We are seeing stress related to people 1 wondering if people around them are taking appropriate preventative measures. All of those are things that we are seeing in peoples concerns. Host our guest, dr. Arthur evans, with the American Psychological association. We welcome your calls and comments. For those of you in the eastern and central time zones, it is 202 7488000. Mountain and pacific, 202 7488001. For medical professionals, 202 7488002. Published the signs of stress during the pandemic, during Infectious Disease outbreak, and they include fear and worry about your own health and the health of loved ones, changes in sleep or eating patterns, difficulty sleeping or concentrating, increased use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs, the anxiety effects include physical symptoms, muscle tensions, headaches, emotional symptoms, irritability, frustration, fear, difficulty concentrating, thoughts or worry and atastrophize catastrophizing, ruminating. You are seeing a rise in all of these across the country . Seeing ist we are that peoples reported levels of stress is going up. We have seen some of that is coming down a little bit, as people get accustomed to the new normal. Stress inifest their lots of different ways. The important thing is how we manage and mitigate stress, because we know that unmitigated stress can lead to a whole series of problems, cardiovascular problems, exacerbation of Chronic Health conditions, depression, Substance Abuse depression, Substance Abuse. It is a main reason we do the survey every year. The first is to recognize the level of stress that people are under, right now with the pandemic. We know that the level of uncertainty and the fear that people have, as a result is causing stress. When you add to that the economic downturn, and we know from years of Psychological Research that as the economy worsens, that there is more psychological distress. You add to that, the racial issues i was talking about earlier. All of those things are additive in terms of the impact that they have on people. It is important to take steps to manage that and mitigate that stress. Your survey found that a portion of adults citing gettingving coronavirus as a significant source of stress in the northeast but falling elsewhere. What we saw is what we are seeing is that as the infection rates go down in the northeast, the level of concern and stress related to getting the virus is going down, but in areas where we are seeing infection rates start to rise, there is more stress and concern about people getting the virus in concern about people getting the virus in those areas. Host the one common factor is unpredictability is causing stress across the aisle. The current amount of uncertainty in our nation causes me stress. 76 ofg to that, democrats surveyed, and 67 of republicans. You asked if the current Political Climate is a significant source of stress. 77 of democrats agreed on that. 62 of republicans agreed on that. Is that much different from earlier in the survey . Guest it is. We see these political differences on these issues, consistently. There is one other area, that i thought was very interesting. We asked the question about how people felt that people felt about the preventative measures, we have been asked to do, and particular physical distancing and wearing a mask in particular wearing physical distancing and wearing a mask. There are differences in terms of the proportions. 88 of republicans of democrats think those kinds of preventative measures are very ofortant, whereas about 65 republicans feel the same way. Two important points here. One is that a majority of people believe these things are important. That there is a big political divide, and terms of peoples willingness to engage in those kinds of preventative activities, at least a majority of both parties think that is important, but there are still these differences based on political affiliation. Host we will get to your phone calls. Eastern and central time zones, 202 7488000. Mountain and pacific, 202 7488001. Bernadette is first up, in new mexico. Caller good morning, everyone. The reason i am calling is i do live in new mexico, and the Mental Health issue is rampant here. People are being referred for Mental Health, and then the Mental Health professionals go ahead and prescribe psychotic drugs that make the matters worse. Some people dont need this, and yet everywhere you turn, somebody says that person needs mental help. All of a sudden, there is a gestapo around here recommending everyone go to a psychologist, when in reality, the psychologists themselves dont know what they are doing, because they dont take the time to figure out that some person might be on heart medication, and they dont understand the effects of prescribing a psychotic drug will have the effect with the heart medication. Well, i think the caller is saying a few important things. She is recognizing that people are experiencing a lot of distress. That is consistent with our survey. But i do think it is important that when people are at the point when they are no longer capable of managing the level of stress they are experiencing that they do seek out professional help. The point about sitting down and talking and trying to understand what is going on with someone is very important. That is one of the hallmarks of good Mental Health care, the people are being listened to, issues are being understood, and the type of treatment that is isng employed with people really consistent with what the needs are of the person. I will say that one of the silvers, or one of the linings in all of this in terms of Mental Health is that there is increased use of telehealth so that people dont have to physically go into a Physicians Office or a Mental Health center. They can actually get that care at home. What i would really encourage people is if they are experiencing psychological distress, if they feel they are at a point when they can no longer manage themselves without professional help, that they reach out for help. Call your insurance company, get someone in your network. If you are uninsured, your State Government always has a way of covering services for people who are uninsured. There really is no reason that, if you are experiencing Mental Health challenges, for you not to get help, and given the increased use of telehealth, theres no reason that even if you cant physically get there that you cant receive those services. Host we will go to stephen in pennsylvania. Caller good morning. I have been working since before the pandemic was announced to the american public. I listen to different radio programs that came out of radio free china. Hong kong went off the air. Everybody was wondering what was going on over there. What i have noticed since i have been working with all of my colleagues, theres about 150 of us. We come from many different backgrounds. We noticed that the politicization of the coronavirus pandemic is ramping up the fear of every u. S. Citizen in the country. The mediaget beyond and the politicians and actually tackle the coronavirus where the pandemic is, where people are being affected by it my wife and i recently went camping in midwestern pennsylvania. I walked into a gas station to get a cup of coffee for both of us late at night, and i was surprised no one in the middle of pennsylvania is Wearing Masks or protection. The man behind the counter says, sir, we dont have to wear that out here. We are tired of being told what to do and what to fear. There are numbers out there in that county that were so low, it was unbelievable. Like going through a Twilight Zone period from harrisburg to the middle of the country of pennsylvania. But i would like to know is, why do we shut down all the borders going from state to state, let alone up to canada . In the area of canada where i vacation along the st. Lawrence river, they have the lowest covid rates possible. They are in southern ontario. They are allowed to take hydrochloric when or whatever that drug that hydrochloric queen they are like to take they are allowed to take quine they are allowed to take hydrochloriquine. Host you put several points out there. Guest one of the things that is really important is that we follow the data, that we listen that we allow, the strategies we are going to employ for a particular community to be driven by what the data say. I think that was the point the caller was making. Host on twitter, is similar point. Downplaying the virus, downplaying masks while vilifying officials trying to reduce the spread, all playing. N a motion on emotion leadership would citizens ahead of personal emotions. Mark next in glendale, west virginia. Caller thank you for taking my call. The vast majority of people that are dying, not talking about very elderly people in nursing homes, younger people who might otherwise be healthy, are dying because they experience , which causes your lungs to fill up with fluid. It is actually kind of rare. That is why you almost never see 18, iseople under extremely rare for them to die. However, this has to do with what the psychologist is talking about, the effects of chronic that all of us, not just the pandemic, but the rioting and everything that is going on, that actually increases tremendously. That this is actually more of a factor in a lot of young peoples death than the actual virus itself. Host ok, mark. Guest i cant speak to that specific thing the color was talking about, but we absolutely know that stress affects ples physical help physical health. We have to make sure we are paying as much attention to our mentor health as we are our mentor health to our physical health as we are our Mental Health. 1 cap person host that gettingyoung people not the virus is much as older people. , researchut that shows that adolescents, loosely arened from 14 to 26 years, biologically driven to seek new experiences. When children are born, their brains arent fully formed. The brain creates a large amount of synapses, or neural links between cells. During adolescence, these get cut back or pruned. The brain illuminates the connections that arent important. One way the brain germans what is important or not is through realworld brain determines what is important or not is through realworld experiences. At the same time, dopamine levels reach a lifetime peak in , and rewards and supports were board driven and supports were board driven learning, which drives them to value e media gratification, which can lead to risky decisions value immediate gratification, which can lead to risky decisions. Guest we know that decisionmaking is affected all adulthood,ough young so we know that people are still developing. But the point of a lot of the behavior around people taking risks are being influenced by a number of things. We know that social norms are very important. What are people doing in your community and in your peer group . It affects the decisions people make, the information that verye are getting is important. One thing that has come up today is our Political Leadership is very divided, and the information that is given and how it is portrayed, some of the preventative measures that people need to take. So we have a very volatile environment in which the information people are getting, the sources of that information, the kind of behaviors people are engaging in are really all over the place. I think it is very difficult for people to manage through that, particularly when they are not fully developed in terms of their decisionmaking ability. Host we are talking about Mental Health and stress during the pandemic. Our phone lines are 202 7488000 for the eastern and central time zones, and 202 7488001 for the mountain and pacific time zones. A question for you from sue in new jersey. My observation during the pandemic is people have made some remarkable behavior changes to slow the spread of covid19, but i worry about the economy. Loss of jobs, reduce hours, unresolved unemployment claims, etc. How should people cope with that . Guest we are at the point in this pandemic where we really have to start thinking about the longterm impact. The reality is in the very beginning of this, we were in crisis mode. People were making all kind of adjustments. But it is pretty clear to people now that we are going to be in this for months, if not a couple of years at least, as we get through finding a vaccine and getting people to use that, and the infection rate starting to go down in the spread starting to wane. So we are going to be in this for a while. Howreal challenge for us is do we continue to take the preventative measures that we simultaneouslyd do the things that we need to do to make sure that the economy along, that go people still have a way of having a livelihood. So we have to adjust to a new normal, and i think reframing how we think about this, from this crisis to a marathon, and readjusting our lives for that marathon is going to be important. That means figuring out how are we going to engage in the economy over the long run because we cant stay completely isolated over the next year or two as we wait for a vaccine. So it is part of the challenge we have. I think a lot of people are experiencing decision fatigue because we have so many decisions we have to make. Do we send our children back to school . Do we shop or order our groceries . There are so many decisions we have to answer right now, and we really have to organize our lives around the longterm changes that we see here. Decisions isthose whether or how the family can gather together. Book the Washington Post writing about the Washington Post writing about that this morning. Across the country, families are facing front decisions and fierce disagreements on whether or not to see each other this summer. From california to chicago to charlotte, Family Gatherings of all kinds have been linked to coronavirus outbreaks that have second scores of people. On, itthe pandemic drags is testing resolve to remain apart. Summer reunions offer a preview of what could happen later this year, when americans celebrate their first thanksgiving and christmas since the pandemics start. It has been especially difficult forever can american families, for whom large summer reunions are important rituals, given extra urgency from the National Reckoning on racism. Black families have also been dispersion lee affected by the pendant have been disproportionately affected by have beent. Disproportionately effected by the pandemic. Guest it is important to have this discussion around the criteria that are going to be used and the values that drive those decisions. If the decisions are really being driven by we are going to do every thing we can to make virus, are safe from the that is going to lead you down a certain pathway in terms of how you make those decisions. If your values are such that it is important, and you have concerns about social isolation and the importance of family connection, it will lead you down a different pathway potentially. Arewhatever those criteria that are driving your decisionmaking, it is really important to have those conversations and to really do everything you can to keep your family safe. I know some families are doing everyoneke making sure that is coming to the gathering gets tested and that they quarantine themselves before they gather, so they have some assurances that they are not going to get exposed to the virus during t