The coronavirus could lead to a nationwide depression epidemic that the US is not prepared to handle [businessinsider.com]

By Jonathan Kanter and Katherine Manbeck, Business Insider, April 8, 2020

Isolation, social distancing, and extreme changes in daily life are hard now, but the United States also needs to be prepared for what may be an epidemic of clinical depression because of COVID-19.

We are clinical psychological scientists at the University of Washington's Center for the Science of Social Connection. We study human relationships, how to improve them, and how to help people with clinical depression, emphasizing evidence-based approaches for those who lack resources.

We do not wish to be the bearers of bad news. But this crisis, and our response to it, will have psychological consequences. Individuals, families, and communities need to do what they can to prepare for a depression epidemic. Policymakers need to consider — and fund — a large-scale response to this coming crisis.

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