A 'psychological pandemic': Emotional stressors drive unprecedented demand for therapy

A 'psychological pandemic': Emotional stressors drive unprecedented demand for therapy When will it stop? American grappling with loss of control amid growing feelings of uncertainty, mental health experts say. Jo Ciavaglia USA TODAY

There is a new pandemic spreading across the U.S., but this one isn’t fueled by microscopic infectious parasites.  

It is the result of the emotional overload tied to a once-in-a-lifetime convergence of a worldwide health crisis on top of social, economic, racial and political unrest that has exhausted American psyches, mental health experts say.  

“We have uncertainty to the max,” Temple University psychologist Frank Farley said. “We’ve had a sort of piling on of stressors, which I have never seen in my lifetime. No break and restrictions on our response because of COVID.”

The “psychological pandemic,” as Farley calls it, has resulted in unprecedented demands and needs for mental health resources, support and services. 

And some mental health service providers say they are overwhelmed with requests for online support groups and counseling. They are seeing more people describe symptoms of extreme anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress.

That feeling you can't name? It's called emotional exhaustion.

For people living with diagnosed serious mental illness, the last 10 months of unrest has been a dangerous time with one emotional trigger after another, providers said. The impact is likely to linger long after the world returns to the pre-pandemic life, they added. 

“If you have paranoid thoughts or anxiety, think what your brain could do with all this,” said Nicholas Emeigh, director of Outreach and Development at National Alliance on Mental Illness, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. “This could take a toll on somebody’s mental wellness when you don't have a mental illness.”  ...