Americans have been struggling with unprecedented levels of depression and anxiety due to the coronavirus, and now a new study has confirmed what many of us suspected all along: Black American’s stress levels have skyrocketed even more following the death of George Floyd.
According to a study conducted by the federal government, initially intended to examine the effects of the coronavirus, the trauma experienced as a result of the graphic video of Floyd’s murder, worldwide demonstrations and heated debates about race, have all taken a serious mental toll on Black and Asian Americans.
Both emotionally and mentally these two groups have been disproportionately and adversely impacted while rates of anxiety and depression have remained relatively stable among white Americans and even decreased among Latin Americans.
The Washington Post reports, “The rate of Black Americans showing clinically significant signs of anxiety or depressive disorders jumped from 36 percent to 41 percent in the week after the video of Floyd’s death became public.
Included in the 20-minute 2020 Household Pulse Survey were questions commonly used by doctors to help determine whether patients might be suffering from a major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder.
