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In Spanish
It has been almost two years since COVID-19 upended life as we knew it and caused a huge increase in rates of depression and anxiety. Then in November, as many began to feel the pandemic was winding down, the highly contagious omicron variant sparked new fears of getting sick. And it also brought despair: will this ever end?
"Our brain is not designed to live with chronic stress," says Karen Hahn, a 54-year-old social worker from Washington, DC, who in recent weeks has increased her dose of antidepressants to try to break out of a self-defeating cycle of depression and depression. inertia, which was exacerbated by the omicron variant. “I lie on the couch on Saturday and take naps all day. And I think, 'yeah, I could put my tennis shoes on and go for an hour's walk and I'd feel better.' But I can't even do that. I just want to sleep".
The mental health needs of the United States population during the pandemic began to raise alarms several months ago. Last year, the NAMI Helpline—the National Alliance on Mental Illness (see box below)—which offers help with mental health and substance abuse concerns, received 1,027,381 calls. That represents a 23% increase from 2020, when volume had already been 27% higher than in 2019.
But health experts say the emotional stress has become more acute in recent months. The state of Texas' COVID mental health support line saw a 20% increase in calls since early December, says Greg Hansch, a caseworker and executive director of NAMI's Texas chapter. .