(Des Moines) The data from the Household Pulse survey published by the CDC shows anxiety and depression are at an all-time high, with nearly 40-percent of Iowans reporting feelings of despair or worry, which compares to last year at this same time when the national rate was 11-percent. Women are reporting higher rates of anxiety and depression than men in that same survey.
Liz Cox, CEO of Polk County Health Services, reported the data at Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds press briefing this morning.
Cox says symptoms of anxiety and depressions are associated with a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder or major depressive disorder.
Cox says mobile crisis teams are in place in many counties providing on-site support for those individuals suffering from a mental health crisis. In central Iowa, there are two walk-in urgent care mental health centers, and many school districts added licensed therapists to their staff and designated telehealth spaces within their schools.
Cox says these relationships can be the most potent tool in supporting an individual’s mental health. The suicide prevention hotline number 800-273-8255.
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