A COVID State Of Mind – America’s Mental Health Suffers As Anti-Anxiety Drug Prescriptions Soar

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in forced lockdowns across the country and an economic depression with high unemployment. Tens of millions of jobs have been lost in the last six or so weeks, as “the greatest economy ever” implodes. A new report suggests many Americans cannot handle the unprecedented public health crisis and financial stress, as they quickly seek medication to numb the pain. 

Express Scripts says prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications jumped 34% between February 16 and March 15, including a significant 18% spike on a week-over-week basis in the week ending March 15. 

Prescriptions for antidepressants and sleep disorders also surged 18.6% and 14.8%, respectively, between mid-February and March 15. 

“Americans are turning to medications for relief, demonstrates the serious impact COVID-19 may be having on our nation’s mental health,” Express Scripts said in its “America’s State of Mind Report.”

The report outlines several other significant findings of a heavily medicated society, as these folks seek more prescriptions as their mental health deteriorates:

• More than three quarters (78%) of all antidepressant, anti-anxiety and anti-insomnia prescriptions filled during the week ending March 15 (the peak week) were for new prescriptions. 
• The percent increase in the number of new prescriptions between the week of February 16 and week ending March 15 for the all three categories was 25.4% 
• The percent increase in the number of new prescriptions between the week of February 16 and week ending March 15 for anti-anxiety medications was 37.7%

The intense anxiety and fear that many people are feeling today could lead to social instabilities as the virus crisis and economic collapse continues to worsen.

Some of those instabilities could be a “suicide wave,” protests, violent crime, and a rise in drug overdoses.