THE ANXIETY EPIDEMIC

STRESS IS DISABLING FOR AN ALARMING NUMBER OF AMERICANS, BUT SCIENCE CAN HELP

- Dan Hurley

ANGIE LANDEROS KNEW HER DAUGHTER had always been shy. "Very, very shy," she says. "She always felt awkward talking to other kids her age."

Then came the COVID-19 lockdowns in March, 2020. Ten years old, Landeros' daughter began feeling unbearably self-conscious seeing herself on the computer screen during Zoom lessons. When her elementary school went to a hybrid format that required most kids to attend in person, some days she'd refuse to go. Once she had a full-blown panic attack in the car and began kicking and screaming. On another day, says Landeros, "she literally ran out the door to hide from us."

Since Landeros and her husband, Michael Bloch, are psychiatrists at the Yale Child Study Center, they knew what their daughter was going through: social anxiety disorder. She wasn't the only one. According to a national survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, adults reporting symptoms of anxiety and depression on a near-daily basis jumped to 41 percent in 2021, from 11 percent in 2019. Nearly eight in 10 adults said COVID-19 was causing significant stress in their lives, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association (APA).