WASHINGTON, DC -- Mental health advocate Bill Smith is warning Capitol Hill that a mental health crisis is looming just below the surface of the coronavirus pandemic, and more funding for systems like virtual doctors visits could help curb the problem.
Under the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health advocacy group Inseparable predicts mental health issues have increased drastically. Data from June revealed that 36.5% of adults in the U.S. reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, up from 11.0% last year.
As Americans face unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression, there is an incoming and deadly second curve that requires urgent flattening: experts believe that untreated emotional trauma endured during the COVID-19 outbreak could, over the next decade, claim the lives of as many as 75,000 Americans through substance abuse and suicide.
Inseparable's founder Bill Smith talks with 104.7 WONK FM's Jen Richer. Listen to the full interview here:
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