PTSD, depression and addiction soar amid skyrocketing Omicron cases
Data indicates that men are having a particularly tough time during the pandemic.
Life during a pandemic is taking a mental toll on Americans. According to the Mental Health Index: U.S. Worker Edition, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and addiction are spiking.
An alarming one in four American workers screened positive for PTSD between September 2021 and December 2021 — up 54% over the previous three months and up 136% from pre-pandemic times.
Depression and addiction are surging, too, especially among men. Between September and December, depression in men increased 118%, and social anxiety increased 162%. Among men ages 40-59, general anxiety is up an astounding 94%.
“We expect mental health declines around the holidays; however, nothing of this sheer magnitude,” Matthew Mund, CEO of Total Brain — a mental health monitoring and support platform that powers the Mental Health Index: U.S. Worker Edition — said in a statement. “Employers must be prepared to address trauma in the workplace. Understanding the risks and pressures that may exist for employees and normalizing workplace mental health discussions are important first steps.”
The Mental Health Index: U.S. Worker Edition is distributed in partnership with the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, One Mind at Work, and the HR Policy Association and its American Health Policy Institute. It contains data drawn from a weekly randomized sample of 500 working Americans taken from a larger universe of Total Brain users.
“The Omicron surge has had a parallel effect on the mental health of our workforce,” added Michael Thompson, president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance. “While we had hoped the worst was behind us, employers will want to double down on efforts to create a supportive environment as the issues created by the pandemic continue.”
In this case, short-term solutions will not suffice, according to Daryl Tol, executive vice president of One Mind at Work, a global coalition of company leaders from different sectors striving to transform approaches to mental health and addiction.
“It’s evident that it is going to take dedicated, ongoing work to advance mental health programs for employees on an impactful scale,” he said.
That is already happening in some workplaces, added Margaret Faso, director of Health Care Research and Policy at the HR Policy Association.
“The uncertainty around federal COVID policies adds to the stress felt at the workplace; however, employers have continued to focus on the safety and well-being of employees, regardless of mandates or federal policy,” she said. “It is our hope that as the Omicron variant dissipates, the stress, depression, and anxiety of America’s workers also declines, and the associated behavioral health of all Americans improves.”