By Lois Parshley, Vox, September 3, 2020
2020 has been remarkably stressful — from the fear of nuclear war to a presidential impeachment to a pandemic that has killed more than 186,000 Americans as of September 3. And let’s not forget the record unemployment, the school closures, the police killing of George Floyd and other people of color, the months of protests against police brutality and systemic racism, and accelerating climate change.
Many Americans are understandably feeling anxious about this cascade of events — on top of any stressors they may have already been dealing with. “The technical term is, ‘It’s a lot,’” says Linda Goler Blount, president and CEO of the Black Women’s Health Imperative.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of 5,412 people in late June found that 31 percent were experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression, about three times the number of respondents who said the same in the first two quarters of 2019. Another 26 percent reported symptoms of a trauma- or stressor-related disorder. Eleven percent of people said they had seriously considered suicide in the previous 30 days.
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