Stress in America 2023: a nation recovering from collective trauma

The national public health emergency around Covid-19 officially ended on May 11, 2023, and while the return to normalcy was celebrated by many, the results of the most recent Stress in America survey paint a different picture. Psychologists with APA argue that a superficial characterization of daily life as more normal obscures the post-traumatic effects that have impaired our mental and physical health.

In reviewing this year’s survey data, APA psychologists largely agreed that there is growing evidence that our society is experiencing the psychological impacts of collective trauma.

THE CovidThe Covid-19 pandemic has created a collective experience among Americans. Although the lockdowns of the early pandemic may seem like a thing of the distant past, the consequences remain, said Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, APA executive director.

Moreover, widespread trauma was not limited to the pandemic. Global conflicts, racism and racial injustice, inflation, and climate-related disasters all weigh on the collective conscience of Americans.

Stress in America 2023: a nation recovering from collective trauma examines the lasting psychological impacts of this combination of defining crises. An inspection of mental and physical health before and after the pandemic reveals signs of collective trauma among all age cohorts.

The data suggests the long-term stress experienced since the CovidThe onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on well-being, as evidenced by an increase in chronic illnesses, particularly among people aged 35 to 44, which increased from 48% in 2019 to 58% in 2023. Adults ages 35 to 44 also saw the largest increase in mental health diagnoses, from 31% in 2019 to 45% in 2023, although adults ages 18 to 34 still reported the highest rate of mental illness, 50% in 2023.

Psychological science has revealed that long-term stress creates risks for various mental health problems, can make us more susceptible to even daily hassles, can have broader impacts on our overall life outlook and goals, and affects the physiological response of the body to stress factors. in a way that has notable implications for our physical health. Coping with long-term stress requires a different skill set than adapting to temporary stressors.

Stress puts the body on alert, and continued stress can build up, causing inflammation, weakening the immune system, and increasing the risk of many illnesses, including digestive problems, heart disease, weight gain, and stroke.

We cannot ignore the fact that we have been significantly changed by the loss of more than a million Americans, as well as changes in our workplaces, our school systems, and our culture in general. To move toward post-traumatic growth, we must first identify and understand the psychological wounds that remain, Evans said.