The recent COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the worldview of most people. It is difficult to find a person who did not feel the adverse consequences of the epidemic, lockdown, social distancing, and overall financial crisis (Evans, Grattan 21). No need to say that prolonged stress leads to the spread of depression and substance abuse problems among different categories of people. It is possible to state that social distancing and the financial crisis severely impacted mental health and substance abuse.
The pandemic of COVID-19 created barriers to receiving medical assistance, especially in the mental health sphere. The lockdown leads to the inability of people to go to the hospital for mental health consultation and treatment due to the anti-COVID measures (Kearney et al.). At the same time, the number of problems that were the significant stressing factors for most individuals increased during this period (Kearney et al.). Among them were illnesses, contact with the virus, loss of income sources, and loss of beloved people because of the epidemic (Kearney et al.). No need to say that most people could not cope with these issues themselves, which led to increased substance abuse in the United States (Kearney et al.). Therefore, substance abuse was the side effect of depression, anxiety, and the inability of individuals to cope with the psychological pressure during the pandemic.
The peculiar detail is the demographic factor in the spread of mental health problems and substance abuse among Americans. According to the estimates, mothers and young people were among the most vulnerable individuals in this case (Kearney et al.). It is possible to explain this situation with the increased responsibilities that mothers faced during the lockdown and the pandemic. For example, when all family members work from home and children do not attend school, mothers have more responsibilities, leading to physical and emotional exhaustion (Kearney et al.). Young people, in turn, usually have comparatively low financial stability (Kearney et al.). As a result, the loss of income and the deprivation of communication lead to a mental crisis with subsequent substance abuse (Kearney et al.). It is possible to talk about the spread of mental health problems and substance abuse among vulnerable people.
The economic recession in the United States during the pandemic is proven. As a result, it is not strange that four people out of 10 stated signs of depression and related mental health problems during this period (Panchal et al.). Almost 12% of the respondents report the aggravation of their substance abuse habit (Panchal et al.). The peculiar detail is that 56% of young people state that they were diagnosed with depression during this time, which resulted from their financial problems and need to preserve social distancing (Panchal et al.). The results of the surveys conducted by Panchal et al. and Kearney et al. coincide, and social distancing combined with financial burden leads to adverse consequences for the mental state of many Americans.
This information states that economic difficulties and the inability to communicate with people in real life significantly increase the substance abuse rate and the spread of mental health problems. In other words, most individuals have to cope with many issues leading to emotional breakdowns. They felt the anxiety from the virus spread, experienced constant fear for their lives and the health of their families, managed emotional problems with a lack of real-life communication and tried to find money to support their own lives.
Works Cited
Evans, Mark, and Grattan, Michelle. “Health Expertise and Covid-19: Managing the Fear Factor.” AQ: Australian Quarterly, vol. 92, no. 2, 2021, pp. 20–28.
Kearney, Audrey, Hamel, Liz, and Brodie, Mollyann. “Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Update.” KFF, Web.
Panchal, Nirmita, Kamal, Rabah, Cox, Cynthia, and Garfield, Rachel. “The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use.” KFF, Web.