Test Your Mental Health a Year Into the Pandemic

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Yes, the pandemic is making you crazy, at least according to a 2021 report from Mental Health America, which screened 1.5 million Americans from January to September 2020. It found that 8

out of 10 respondents were experiencing “moderate to severe” symptoms of anxiety and depression. Those rates rose as the year progressed.

On any given day, am I sadder or angrier than I was before the pandemic?

6: Medical care

Poor mood is one of the first indicators that we're not processing stress the way we should, says David H. Rosmarin, assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. "Stress is

an imbalance between resources and demands. So when you have fewer resources and more demands, you're going to feel more stressed."

Test yourself: The depression scale

Researchers at Columbia University developed the Patient Health Questionnaire, a screening tool to measure levels of depression. (We have a version for you to take, below.) If you score 10

or higher, it may be worth looking into treatment.

Before you jump to any conclusions about your mental health, though, let's put things in perspective. “Everyone is going to have a crappy week from time to time,” Rosmarin says. “But if

symptoms persist more than 30 days, you really need to reach out for help.”

Ask yourself:

A lack of motivation, along with physical problems (such as back pain or headaches) that aren't associated with any injury or medical condition and that persist for more than 30 days, is

"definitely worth discussing," Rosmarin says, "and might have more of a mental ideology to them."