75,000 Americans At Risk of Dying from Suicide Due to Pandemic Despair

According to an analysis conducted by the national public health group called Well Being Trust, more than 75,000 Americans could die because of suicide or drug or alcohol abuse as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mental health

The said group is warning the public that the growing economic downturns, unemployment crisis, and stress caused by isolation and the uncertainty about when the pandemic will end could significantly increase depression and could lead to "deaths of despair" unless local, state and federal authorities take action.

Dr. Benjamin F. Miller, the chief strategy officer of Well Being Trust, said that unless America gets comprehensive federal, state, and local resources behind improving access to high-quality mental health treatments and community supports, they worry that things will get far worse when it comes to substance misuse and suicide.

Miller added the data is just a projection based on how bad the things are now in the country and that actions taken could change the outcome. Miller says that the numbers can change as the deaths have not happened just yet. But everyone needs to take action now. The group released maps showing state and county level projects of these kinds of deaths. They were based on data from past years due to the impact of the pandemic on isolation, unemployment, and uncertainty.

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The group is also calling for a fast response from local, state, and federal officials and agencies to make sure that those who are now unemployed because of the pandemic can find work as soon as possible. According to the Well Being Trust, unemployment during the Great Recession was linked with an increase in suicide deaths and drug overdose deaths.

Will history repeat itself?

During the 2008 recession, deaths from suicide and drug overdoses rose along with unemployment. Unemployment went from 4.6% in 2007 to 10% in October 2009 and declined steadily to 3.5% in early 2010, according to the group.

It is possible that the coronavirus pandemic may make some new job opportunities available. For example, states need people to help with contact tracing and other health needs, and that presents new opportunities to re-employ people in need.

The group says that changes must also be made to medical and mental health care to make sure that those who need care can get it. That includes adding some privacy standards surrounding technology to improvise care options.

Miller says that this calls for an opportunity to examine what was not working about mental health delivery prior to COVID-19 and examine new strategies to create a new and more integrated approach to mental health post-COVID-19. He added that groups and the government must expand the use of evidence-based interventions through technology while everyone works to build the mental health system that people deserve.

The country will never have enough of the mental health workforce that they need, so they should get creative with technology as well as who can deliver mental health care. At the end of April 2020, Vermont which been plagued by overdoses, was reported that opioid deaths decreased for the first time since 2014.