The coronavirus cure is worse than the disease.
More people are drinking more. More people are doing more drugs. More people are more isolated because of the coronavirus.
Now there is a study that says more people are thinking about taking their own lives.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four young adults say they have contemplated committing suicide in the past month because of the pandemic.
The CDC study analyzed 5,412 survey respondents between June 24 and 30. Of all the respondents, 10.7 percent reported harboring suicidal thoughts in the previous 30 days, while 25.5 percent of those between 18 to 24 reported doing so.
25 Percent!!! That is an amazing number.
It is not surprising. Many young people feel isolated, and this younger generation who lives online feels even more isolated.
The public health campaign to lock people away may (and I stress may) be keeping some people from testing positive for the virus.
But it is ruining other people’s lives. We know that.
The CDC study also found a rise in anxiety and substance abuse, with more than 40 percent of those surveyed saying they experienced a mental or behavioral health condition connected to the Wuhan coronavirus. Nearly 31 percent of respondents said they had symptoms of anxiety or depression and roughly 26 percent reported trauma and stress-related disorder because of the pandemic. Some 13 percent of participants said they have turned to substance use, including alcohol and prescription or illicit drugs, to cope with stress from the pandemic.
We are told that every life is sacred, and we cannot lose people to this virus.
But what about losing lives to lockdowns, the quarantines, the closings of schools and offices?
We are told to wear a mask in public. That means no more smiles.
We are living in a world where the government says it is dangerous to smile.
No wonder so many people are having a hard time.