Do You See the Shocking Levels of Stress That I Do?
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While I look around in the local coffee shop where I currently sit to write, everyone is going along as usual. Workers continue serving customers. Light-hearted talking among friends nearby. A number, like me, sit typing away on their laptops. The atmosphere seems light and busy.
It all looks normal. But is it really?
My heart feels heavy with concern. Many people experience greater stress levels now than I have seen throughout my career.
Clients mention to me their on-going stress from the news. Indeed, it adds to my own stress. It is not hard to believe that it is putting some with more fragile mental health over the edge.
Not everyone has the resilience and cognitive discernment to manage the inundation of negative, frightening, angry and just plain scary streams of information.
I feel concerned about the financial well-being of Americans. I often wonder how families with children and teens can afford their cost of living when the cost of groceries continues to go up every week. Those living paycheck to paycheck must feel continual stress trying to feed, clothe and transport their kids and themselves.
I think about front-line service workers. Not enough workers for the demands. Supplies on back order. Workers try to meet the needs of customers, day in day out. I fear that a number of those customers are impatient and take their frustration out on these front-line people.
In the early years of my counseling center, Christian Care Connection, I felt constant concern about getting the word out. Seasonal ebbs and flows made it hard financially. However, since 2020 the phone barely pauses. Even with 15 therapists, most of those callers get turned away because we are full. Many of these people are calling around and just hoping to get in somewhere.
Calls continue to flood our phones. I sense their desperation.
A study conducted near the end of 2022 found 37% of those surveyed reporting their mental health as poor or only fair, a significant uptick from 31%, just one-year prior. (1)
And our kids!
Gun violence and homicides are rising in my town of Toledo, OH. A large percentage are young, inner-city youth. Many of these are gang related and others just innocent bystanders who happen to be standing or living in the wrong place.
Do you know what the current rates of depression and contemplation of suicide are among teen girls? I was shocked to learn that 1 in 3 teen girls has seriously considered suicide, while over half (57% ) feel persistently sad or hopeless. (2)
We could all speculate on systemic causes, but the point is that people are not ok. At least, 37% of adults and 57% of teen girls are not ok.
The resilient among us, and those with strong faith, and connected support systems fare better than others.
Senior adults appear to manage stress better than younger adults, according to studies. Perhaps it is the ability to put things in perspective, or the confidence gained by going through hard times in the past.
As Americans, we are not accustomed to this level of difficulty and pressure. And I notice a trend of in our counseling center of Christians questioning God rather than expressing faith when difficulties arise rather.
I am concerned. I do not have the answers. But I think this could be an opportunity for the church.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
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(1) Americans Anticipate Higher Stress at the Start of 2023 and Grade Their Mental Health Worse, American Psychiatric Association (Dec. 2023). Retrieved from: https://www.psychiatry.org/News-room/News-Releases/Americans-Anticipate-Higher-Stress-at-the-Start-of.
(2) Speaking of Psychology: What’s the Crisis in Teen Mental Health, Ethier, K. (2023). Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/teen-mental-health.
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