Symptoms of Anxiety or Depressive Disorder

Health
Written By Alysha Rashid

One-third of Americans report symptoms of anxiety or depression, up from 11% in 2019. The South had 8 of 10 states with the highest rates.

Symptoms of anxiety or depression, June 7-19, 2023

Percent of adults who experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression in the last two weeks

Source: CDC and Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. Notes: This indicator is based on self-report of the frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms, derived from responses to the first two questions of the eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) and the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-2) scale.

Americans face a growing mental health crisis. The percent of adults in the U.S. reporting symptoms of anxiety and depression has tripled from 11% in 2019 to 33% in June 2023.1 8 out of the 10 states with the highest rates were in the South: AR (39%), LA (39%), FL (38%), TN (37%), SC (36%), MS (36%), NC (36%), and AL (35%). The effects of this mental health crisis continue to become clear, with increasing incidence of substance abuse, drug overdose and alcohol-induced deaths, gun violence, and road rage and other vehicular fatalities. (Drug Overdose Deaths, Motor vehicle deaths, Gun deaths among children)2,3,4,5,6,7

In June 2023, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force finalized its recommendation for adults under 65 to be screened for anxiety, depression, and suicide risk.8,9 This comes months after the force’s recommendation for anxiety screening in children and adolescents back in October 2022 (Youth mental health).10 These recommendations are part of an effort to intervene and diagnose mental health concerns early. July 2023 marks one year of the nation’s relaunched suicide and crisis prevention hotline, 988. Since its launch, the simplified dial code has had over 5 million contacts.11 Yet, a recent survey finds that over 80% of Americans are not familiar with the hotline.12 The Department of Human Health Services announced an additional $200 million in funding in May 2023 for states, territories and tribes to build local capacity for the hotline.

  1. “Anxiety and Depression”. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health.htm

  2. “The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use”. Panchal, Saunders, Rudowitz, and Cox. March, 2023. https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/#anxietyanddepression

  3. “Rate of Deaths Involving Any Drug in the United States in 2020: 28.3 (per 100,000 Population”. https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/dcdd/viz/04_DrugOverdose/04_DrugOverdose

  4. “Effect of increased alcohol consumption during COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol-associated liver disease: A modeling study”. Julien, Ayer, Tapper, Barbosa, Dowd, and Chhatwal. AASLD. December, 2021. https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/hep.32272

  5. “As gun violence reaches record levels in the US, an underlying trauma may be building up”. McPhillips. CNN Health. April, 2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/17/health/mass-shootings-mental-health/index.html

  6. “2020 Fatality Data Show Increased Traffic Fatalities During Pandemic”. U.S. Department of Transportation. June, 2021. https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/2020-fatality-data-show-increased-traffic-fatalities-during-pandemic

  7. “Road Rage Shootings Are Continuing to Surge”. Burd-Sharps, Tetens, and Szkola. Everytown. March, 2023. https://everytownresearch.org/reports-of-road-rage-shootings-are-on-the-rise/

  8. “Screening for Anxiety Disorders in Adults”. JAMA Network. June, 2023. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2806250?guestAccessKey=86b2bfe6-b947-4bfc-aea9-c22ca5d1da15&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=062023

  9. “Screening for Depression, Anxiety, and Suicide Risk in Adults: A Systematic Evidence Review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force”. O’Connor, Henninger, Perdue, Coppola, Thomas, and Gaynes. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. June, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK592805/

  10. “Screening for Anxiety in Children and Adolescents”. Viswanathan, Wallace, Middleton, et al. JAMA Network. October, 2022. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2797220

  11. “988 Lifeline Performance Metrics”. SAMHSA. https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988/performance-metrics

  12. “New NAMI-Ipsos Poll Finds Low Familiarity of 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline but Broad Bipartisan Support for Federal Funding”. National Alliance on Mental Illness. July, 2023. https://www.nami.org/Press-Media/Press-Releases/2023/New-NAMI-Ipsos-Poll-Finds-Low-Familiarity-of-988-Suicide-Crisis-Lifeline

Alysha Rashid
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Youth Mental Health