Imagine you are in a deep forest and suddenly you see a bear in front of you. The primal “fight-or-flight” instinct kicks in and your heartbeat increases, stoked by fear. This is often what anxiety sufferers feel, even if there is no life-threatening danger. The flight response is to ensure a person is alert, focused and ready. However, anxiety is all about false alarms.
Now, add COVID-19 to the mix, and anxiety and depression sufferers are likely to find themselves in even more stressful situations.
Data provided by Gallup, an American analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C., has revealed that four out of 10 people feel stressed.
Also, a United Nations report revealed that stress and anxiety levels increased by 4% in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) draws a more grim portrait that the frequency of recurrence of anxiety and depression has increased to 25%.
According to the WHO, after this increase, which was caused by social isolation, loneliness, fear of infection, mourning after the death of a loved one and financial concerns, women, young people and those with physical disorders were more at risk.
Reports also reveal that there has been an increase in the global stress trend in recent years, with 43% of the employees stating that they had experienced stressful moments recently.
American and Canadian employees are also widely suffering from increased anxiety, according to the global average. Eighty percent of American citizens cite rising inflation and the occupation of Ukraine as major sources of stress, according to a study conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA).
The reports also have shown that life satisfaction for young people decreased, while it increased for people aged 60 and over.
Happiness is sought by more people, and publishers note that the sale of books on self-development has increased sharply in the past year. Also, there was a spike in academic studies on happiness 2021.
