COVID - 19

The COVID-19 pandemic is emotionally stressful, and can be especially distressing for those already struggling with symptoms of depression and anxiety. According to recent data, Americans are reporting increased symptoms of depression, anxiety and fear (Czeisler et al., 2020; Holland, 2020; MHA, 2020).

Suicidal ideation is one of the most concerning symptoms of depression. The CDC recently reported that more than two times as many respondents had seriously considered suicide in the 30 days preceding their June 2020 survey than in the 12 months preceding a survey they had administered in 2018 (10.7% in 2020 vs. 4.3% in 2018). The rate of suicidal ideation conducted during the Covid-19 survey was particularly high among certain groups, notably young adults aged 18-24 years (25.5%), Hispanic individuals (18.6%), non-Hispanic Black individuals (15.1%), unpaid caregivers (30.7%), and essential workers (21.7%) (Czeisler et al., 2020).

Youth between the ages of 12 and 17 also made more visits to the Emergency Department for a suspected suicide attempts during the pandemic than they did before the pandemic. While suicide-related visits to Emergency Departments had decreased early in the pandemic likely due to the issuance of shelter-in place orders, they began to increase in May 2020 and soon significantly surpassed pre-pandemic levels. According to CDC data, suspected suicide attempts were 2.4 times higher in the spring of 2020, 1.7 times higher in the summer of 2020, and 2.1 times higher in the winter of 2021 than they were during the same periods in 2019. This elevation in suspected suicide attempts occurred especially among adolescent girls (Yard et al., 2021) and among those with no prior history of psychiatric problems (Ridout et al., 2021).

It is not known yet how COVID-19 will specifically impact suicide rates and it may take several years before data are available. However, there are some communities already seeing a spike in suicide rates in their counties (Vernachio, 2020).  While the overall number of suicides in the U.S. decreased by 5% between 2019 and 2020, this decline was accompanied by an increase in the number of suicides among people of color and an increase in the number of overdose deaths (Rabin, 2021). It is unclear if the decline in the number of suicide deaths in 2020 is a consequence of the pandemic or a continuation of a downward trend in suicides after suicides crested in 2018. The Department of Defense also reported an increase in the number of suicides in the military, but the DoD saw it as continuation of a current, distressing, upward trend and did not attribute it specifically to the pandemic (DoD, 2021).

However, there are steps we can take now to help mitigate suicide risk and protect ourselves and our communities. Dr. Christine Moutier, Chief Medical Officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, recently published an article in JAMA Psychiatry, which discusses how increased suicide rates are not an inevitable outcome of the pandemic. Rather, there are specific steps that can be taken now to reduce suicide risk both during the pandemic and in the future. These steps include not only increasing social connectedness and access to mental health care, but also addressing issues such as domestic violence, alcohol and drug use, financial strain, access to firearms, and irresponsible media reporting. As Dr. Moutier explained at the 2020 National Stop A Suicide Today Town Hall, the pandemic could serve as a potential positive catalyst for change, with some “silver linings,” such as normalizing the dialogue surrounding mental health experiences and increasing access to telehealth services.