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MENTAL HEALTH Depression and the state of our country Uncertainty in society creates anxiety, concern

Portsmouth Herald - 6/25/2017

PORTSMOUTH - There is a lot of uncertainty in today's world, and because of it, many people live in a state of anxiety and, for some, a very real clinical depression is emerging, resulting from fears of events in current politics and the ever-growing incidents of terrorists acts that is causing a slow, but growing concern in health care professionals.

Dr. Matthew Davis, medical director of the Behavioral Health Center at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, said he has not seen an increase in depressive patients because of the current state of affairs, but he certainly understands the reasons it may be happening.

An article in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that "events linked to the recent presidential campaign and election have given rise to fear and anxiety in many Americans. Research suggests that these events can have negative health effects on people who have been direct targets of what they perceive as hostility or discrimination and on individuals and communities who feel vulnerable because they belong to a stigmatized, marginalized or targeted group."

The article goes on to state that health care professionals should take note of the phenomena and the potential need to address it.

The current climate is one of distrust. Whether it is racial discrimination, religious beliefs, immigration issues or terrorism, the people of the United States are in turmoil, and in many cases, are pitted against each other.

"Anecdotally, I hear the premise of the question," said Davis. "Politics have polarized, and become very bi-partisan over the past years and emotions are strong. Clinically, I have not seen an uptick in cases of mental health issues attributable to the current political climate."

Davis acknowledged that current issues, like the uncertainty over the fate of health care in the country, do contribute to people's anxiety levels.

"Certainly, there is dissatisfaction and mistrust," said Davis. "I don't know that it has risen to the level of a specific condition. I am unaware of any evidenced-based research or results about depression related to current politics or terrorism."

"There is a lot of fear out there," said John Marzinzik, CEO of Frisbie Memorial Hospital. "I was traveling and was in Belgium, near Antwerp and saw the arrest of a potential terrorist. There is a lot of scary stuff in the world."

Marzinzik said politics in the U.S. is stalled.

"No one is willing to sit down and talk to each other anymore," said Marzinzik. "That has a negative effect on people, especially young people."

Davis shared the comments of a colleague, who has been in the field for several decades, regarding the question.

"She said the world is a very tough place," said Davis. "As people, we are always looking at our lives through the prism of what is happening right now. The data we see as the most current, we also tend to see as the most accurate, so it's understandable that people react."

Does that mean that terrorism, or unfair or cruel actions are more prevalent today than in the past? Not necessarily, said Davis.

"Are people suffering more?" he asked. "I can't really say that is the case, but it is worth considering. The world always presents us with specific challenges. Look at the bubonic plague. Hundreds of millions of people died. People had health concerns and they really didn't understand why this was happening. That probably caused a certain level of anxiety."

On the other hand, Davis said people can try to look at the positives, what we have in our world that is good.

"We live in a world where women have the right to vote,' said Davis. 'We have more rights and advantages than we did in the past. It's easy to focus on the catastrophes, but really we need to look at our day-to-day life and put things into perspective."

One answer Marzinzik offers is that people need to find an outlet for their stress.

"How many millennials go to church these days?" he asked. "Another idea is taking a class, like yoga. It is great for stress. My point is there are places for people to go, for them to feel better and be with other people. With access to health care shrinking, we need to find ways to focus on what we need."