We need to take the post-pandemic mental health crisis seriously

We are a nation in psychological turmoil. Two boys were recently charged in Courtroom 48.^th The 2024 shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs parade. This is a wake-up call to address the mental health of our nation.

During the 1918 influenza pandemic, neuropsychiatric symptoms were known to develop after the pandemic. One study found that the virus had a real impact on the brain and psychological health over a two-year period.

A century later, in the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, research has found that young people between the ages of 3 and 17 are reporting an increase in depression and anxiety.

Among adults, alcohol use increased to cope with the pandemic and its aftermath. More than 1 million people have died from the coronavirus in the United States, and nearly every American has likely had a family member, close friend, or colleague who has been hospitalized or died from the virus.

More than 50 percent of Americans believe they have contracted the virus, and as many as 15 out of 100 American adults are experiencing long-term effects from the coronavirus. For comparison, the AIDS epidemic is estimated to have killed a total of 700,000 people as of 2018. In the United States, the number of new coronavirus infections has already exceeded this number for four years.

In my research and clinical patient care, I have seen firsthand that the toll on mental health in the aftermath of COVID-19 is just beginning.

When I was in medical school, I majored in biological sciences at the University of Chicago. We studied cells. The human body is a collection of his 30 trillion cells. Each has a duty to maintain the functioning of the whole organism. When one cell becomes diseased and poses a threat to the organism, it is removed or repaired. When viruses invade cells, they cause disease in the body.

I have always thought of the human body as a metaphor for how society works, and this is also the theme of my 2023 research on anthropological and sociological thought. It states that each part of the body represents a different social function. For example, the head of state is a metaphor for how the “head” houses the control center of the body.

The country is seeing a serious retreat from the heightened racial consciousness that followed the killing of George Floyd. A divide is widening over debates about racial equality. Mass shootings, hate crimes, and acts of random violence are on the rise.

At the same time, over the past four years, Russia has invaded Ukraine, relations between China and Taiwan and China and the United States have been strained, and a war between Israel and Hamas has killed thousands of people.

Allostatic load, or weathering, is a well-established phenomenon in which chronic stress causes depletion of the body and can cause permanent changes in the brain. Exposure to so much suffering over a short period of time can cause many people to become emotionally disconnected.

Many people are no longer able to respond adequately to human suffering, both globally and in our personal lives.

As a nation, many of us are in long-term survival mode, and our children have no immunity. Some people are turning to drugs for relief, and many are unknowingly taking dangerous opioids, with alarming numbers becoming addicted to fentanyl.

Many people learn how to cope with trauma the hard way. Millennials and Gen Z are some of the most anxious generations. In this modern era, many people are psychologically aware of burnout, depression, anxiety, and increased dependence on substances such as alcohol.

America is a collection of humans, a collection of cells, a collection of people with different capabilities that allows America to be one of the greatest experiments in human history. COVID-19 has entered this country and the virus has entered the world. And physically, we are still sick and psychologically impaired.

However, many people function as if nothing happened and are trying to get back to normal.

Each person needs to be mindful of their own needs. Government agencies need to invest heavily in mental health campaigns that destigmatize mental illness. Leaders of local churches, mosques, and community organizations must design spaces for this collective healing.

We need more federal funding to support mental health. The $200 million recently awarded by President Biden for youth mental health support needs to be extended to all generations.

As a psychiatrist, I see every day the continuing gaps in access to mental health care, with patients waiting months for appointments.

The country is in the midst of a post-pandemic mental health crisis. Addressing it needs to be a national priority.

Aderonke Pederson is an assistant professor and psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. She is a Public Voices fellow in her OpEd project and conducts her NIH-funded research on technology in stigma and digital health.