We need to take our post-pandemic mental health crisis seriously 

We are a nation in psychological turmoil. Two juveniles were charged recently in the 48^th mass shooting in 2024 at the Kansas City Chiefs parade. This is a wakeup call to address the mental health of the nation. 

In 1918, during the influenza pandemic, there were known neuropsychiatric symptoms that developed following the pandemic. One study found that over a two-year period, there was a real impact of the virus on the brain and psychological health. 

A century later, with the COVID-19 pandemic, research shows young people ages 3-17 affected by increased reports of depression and anxiety. 

Among adults, there was an increase in use of alcohol to cope with the pandemic and its aftermath. With over 1 million deaths from COVID in the United States, it is likely that nearly every American had a family member, close friend or co-worker who was either hospitalized or died from the virus.  

Over 50 percent of Americans believe they have contracted the virus, and as many as 15 in 100 American adults are affected by long COVID. For comparison, the AIDS epidemic is estimated to have killed 700, 000 total people as of 2018; COVID has already cumulatively surpassed this in four years in the United States. 

In my research and in my clinical patient care, I have seen firsthand that the mental health toll in the aftermath of COVID-19 has only just begun. 

When I was a pre-med college student, I was a biological science major at the University of Chicago. We studied cells. The human body is a collection of 30 trillion cells; each has a duty to keep the whole organism functioning. When one cell is sick, and poses a threat to the organism, it is removed or repaired. When a virus invades the cell, it makes the body sick. 

I have always thought about the human body as a metaphor for how society works, which is also a theme in 2023 research on anthropological and sociological thought. It states that different body parts represent different social functions. For example, the head of state is a metaphor for how “the head” houses the control center of the body.   

In this country there seems to be a deep regression from the rise of racial consciousness after George Floyd’s murder. There are widening divides around conversations on racial equity. There have been more mass shootings, more hate crimes and more random acts of violence.  

Simultaneously, in the last four years, Russia invaded Ukraine, the China-Taiwan and China-U.S. relations have strained, and the Israeli-Hamas war has killed thousands. 

Allostatic load, or weathering, is an established phenomenon in which chronic stress causes wear and tear on the body that can create a permanent change in the brain. Continuous exposure to so much suffering in a short period has created for many a disconnect from emotions.  

Many are no longer responding appropriately to human suffering, either on a global scale or in our individual lives. 

As a nation, many have entered an extended state of survival mode — and children are not immune. Some are seeking relief in drugs, many unknowingly consuming dangerous opioids, and are being poisoned by fentanyl at alarming numbers. 

Many are learning to cope with trauma with great difficulty. Millennials and Generation Z are some of the most anxious generations. While many are psychologically aware in this modern age, they are also burnt out, depressed, anxious, and dependent on substances like alcohol at increasing levels. 

America is a body of people, a body of cells, a collective unit of people with different functions that allow the United States to be one of the greatest experiments in human history. COVID-19 invaded this country, the virus invaded the world; and as a body, we are still sick — psychologically compromised. 

Yet, many are trying to function like nothing happened, trying to get back to normal. 

It is necessary for each person to take note of their individual needs. Government agencies need to invest heavily in a mental health campaign that ends mental illness stigma. Leaders in local churches, mosques and community organizations need to design spaces for this collective healing. 

More federal money needs to support mental health. The recent $200 million President Biden granted for youth mental health support must be expanded to all generations.  

As a psychiatrist, daily, I see the ongoing gaps in mental health care access, with patients waiting several months for an appointment. 

The country is in a post-pandemic mental health crisis. Addressing it needs to be a national priority.    

Aderonke Pederson is an assistant professor and psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. She is a Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project and conducts NIH-funded research on stigma and digital health technology.