A new poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) revealed that about 90% of US residents feel anxious or very anxious about the current inflation, an 8% increase from the previous month.

Conducted between June 18 and 20, 2022, the APA Healthy Minds Monthly poll, which interviewed just over 2,000 US adults, also found that more than 50% of Americans are worried about a potential loss of income.

In a statement, APA President Rebecca Brendel pointed out that "Healthy Minds Monthly is showing us that the economy seems to have supplanted Covid as a major factor in American’s day-to-day anxiety."

Covid-19-related anxiety decreased

According to the poll, Covid-19-related anxiety decreased from 49% to 47% among all US residents since May, and from 63% to 47% among Black Americans.

The poll mentioned that 66% of Hispanic adults, 65% of mothers, and more than 60% of millennials and Gen Zers were most likely to worry about loss of income. 

Social vulnerability impact physical & mental well-being

On this matter, Healthline quoted Timothy Sullivan, chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Staten Island University Hospital, as saying: "If you look at scientific measures of social stress or social vulnerability, the factors that are associated with increased risk of ill health are all affected by financial stress."

“We know that social vulnerability or social determinants of health have an important and often unseen impact on both physical and mental well-being,” Sullivan added.

The Chair explained that when individuals feel a loss of control over important things in their daily life, it causes psychological distress as well as adverse effects on their physical health over time.

72% of Americans feel stressed about money

In the same context, Carmen Nicole Katsarov, executive director at Behavioral Health Integration at CalOptima, mentioned that "APA’s recent Stress in America study found that 72% of Americans reported feeling stressed about money at least some time in the prior month."

Katsarov said that CalOptima views that financial stress has a daily physical and psychological impact on people, emphasizing that "When someone has a decrease in the ability to afford the basic things related to living, such as food and housing," it "can lead to feelings of despair and hopelessness that can increase the likelihood of a serious mental health condition, especially when someone cannot see a way out of their situation."

She underlined that "Chronic stress can impact all areas of someone’s life, including self-esteem, work, and personal relationships."