Helping society respond to the Covid-19-driven mental health crisis

It’s not uncommon for caregivers and others related to people with disease to feel increased stress and anxiety. With Covid-19, however, we’re learning that stress and anxiety are increasing among people whether or not they have any direct relationship to someone with the disease. 

Recent surveys from American Psychiatric Association and the Kaiser Family Foundation, for example, demonstrate the growing impact of Covid-19 on people’s mental health, while a Washington Post article cited a more than 1,000 percent increase (yes, you read that right) in text messages last month to the federal government’s disaster distress hotline from the year before. The fact is, no one’s mental health is immune from the impact of this public health crisis. 

But there’s some uplifting news, too, as I explain in this essay at Fortune.com, with the growing recognition of this issue and hints of a robust response to it with innovative ideas and services like online screeners and expanded telehealth options. While nothing is more important right now than finding an antidote to the coronavirus itself, efforts like these that address the mental health crisis it created are also critical to our future.