COVID and depression

mid-July, 53% of Americans reported feelings of depression and-or anxiety directly related to COVID-19, according to a poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. These statistics support various mood alterations noticeable in family, friends and even ourselves during this seemingly endless pandemic. COVID-19 touches everyone, many negatively. Symptoms may range from fleeting negative detours to pervasive disrupters of mental health. Those already struggling with major depression and anxiety are more vulnerable to COVID-induced complications; very few will escape unscarred. Dr. Cliff Zeller, a psychiatrist for over 30 years, witnessed a similar eruption of “dis-ease” only once before, on Sept. 11, 2001. “The difference is that Sept. 11 was more acute, and the shock was more short-term,” he says. “Human beings are designed to handle short-term […]