In New York City, I frequently see people walking along the street with masks hanging low over their chins, seeming frightened and evasive. Worrying about Covid-19 has taken a heavy toll on people’s mental health, and these rituals serve as a stark reminder of that fact.

Study published in Lancet examines data from 48 sources in an attempt at determining the true impact of climate change. More than 129 million people worldwide are suffering from serious depression and anxiety disorders, compared to pre-pandemic estimates, according to the authors. These reasons include “lockdowns, stay-at-home orders,” “decreased public transportation,” “school and business closures,” “diminished social interactions,” and “a combination of the effects of the virus spread.”

“We estimated that the locations hit hardest by the pandemic in 2020, as measured with decreased human mobility and daily SARS-CoV-2 infection rate, had the greatest increases in prevalence of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders,” according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

There is also evidence that anxiety and sadness are linked to the number of daily Covid-19 cases, but the CDC didn’t take into account the influence of lockdowns and other restrictions on mental health.

As in earlier studies, the greatest impact on mental health was seen in children and adolescents, perhaps as a result of their greater need for social connection and the greater reliance on persons outside the home for their social lives. In addition, they have a far lower risk of developing serious illness, thus restrictions put a significant load on them.

In China, investigations have revealed a correlation between the harshness of lockdowns and depression rates after the outbreak of Covid began. There was an increase in “emotional distress” among people in Louisiana who had already been diagnosed with anxiety disorders, according to a research published in Psychiatry Research in April.

In the late summer, fall, and winter of 2020, lockdowns were still in force, and the average anxiety and depression ratings rose. Three times as many adults in the United States reported experiencing anxiety or depression symptoms in late April and early May 2021, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, as they did in 2019 before the pandemic began. There were just 24 percent of those in South Dakota who reported these symptoms, which is less than half of those in the rest of the state.

There has been a major mental health crisis among our kids because of government overreach in closing schools. More than 1.6 billion students in more than 190 countries will be unable to attend school at some point in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Several studies have shown that families with lesser incomes suffer more psychologically when they are forced to stay at home by government orders. “Older and Black and Hispanic children, as well as those from families with lower income who attend school remotely may experience greater impairment to mental health than their younger and White counterparts,” according to a University of Washington study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last month.

Public health can be harmed by ill-conceived approaches for preventing illness. It was based on a model that had some effectiveness in halting the spread of Spanish flu a century ago. Even though SARS-CoV-2, a more contagious virus, was unable to be contained, it caused massive psychological damage. Even those who did not become ill as a result of exposure to Covid-19 will never be the same.