Notes On Coronavirus: How is America Feeling? Part 7

Research,   Mental Health
by Nancy Lublin, Co-Founder and CEO
1. People are still anxious/stressed out, but starting to feel more depressed/isolated.
The data is based on the PHQ scale, a standard clinical measure of anxiety and depression: “For each of the following, how have concerns around coronavirus affected how you feel, compared to how you normally feel?”

Week of 4/6

Week of 4/13

Week of 4/20

Feeling isolated from others

69%

73%

75%

Feeling left out

50%

55%

57%

Feeling depressed or hopeless

65%

67%

68%

Little interest in doing things

58%

64%

63%

Can’t stop worrying

60%

57%

57%

Feeling nervous or anxious

72%

68%

67%
 
2. The top 10 trending words are about their situation (home/finances) more than the virus itself.

    • Quarantine

    • COVID

    • Lockdown

    • Pandemic

    • Essential

    • Social distancing

    • Laid off

    • Home

    • Closed

    • Unemployed

 
3. Resilience is different by gender…

    • Women, Trans male, Agender, Trans female, and Genderqueer texters are spending more time:

      • Helping friends and family (36%)

      • Making plans for the future, such as booking vacations (29%)

    • Men are spending more time:

      • Feeling grateful (33%)

      • Being kind and patient with themselves (34%)

 
4. Different ages are feeling different things…
– 43% of texters under 13 mention fear or experience of harm (verbal, physical, or emotional) from people in their home.
– While not a huge percentage of our market, 65+ yo texters have increased 4x post-COVID. Some highlights from data below.

  • Almost two-thirds (64%) of texters 65+ have a fear of contracting the virus themselves, 25 points higher than the average (39%)

  • 14% of texters 65+ mention recent experiences of racism and/or discrimination, which is 2x higher than the average texter.

  • Almost 1 in 5 (18%) mention the recent loss of a loved one, double the average texter.

 
5. How are essential workers in the service industry (convenience stores, childcare, etc) feeling?

    • 89% are experiencing stress related to coronavirus, compared to 84% for all texters

    • 41% are distressed about potentially contracting COVID themselves; 67% are worried about their loved ones contracting COVID. Many mention fears of “bringing home” the virus.

    • 13% mention recent loss of a loved one, five points higher than the average texter (8%).

    • 75% mention feeling more depressed or hopeless during COVID, compared to 67% of all texters.

 
6. Inspiring? Medical/Healthcare remains the #1 occupation of people applying to be volunteer Crisis Counselors, making up 19% of applicants. Hooray for saving lives in your job AND your volunteer hustle. <3
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