COVID‐19 leads to jump in people seeking MH help in NYC

It's a stressful time to be a New Yorker. People are stuck at home, worrying about their health, their family and their paycheck, Spectrum News New York 1 reported April 13. “We are seeing a lot of calls related to anxiety and stress that people are experiencing today,” said Matt Kudish, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City. The organization says the number of callers seeking help has jumped 60% over the last few weeks, and that conversations now last about 15 minutes longer than average. The city says it's also seeing an increase in demand. Web sessions to its NYC Well service jumped 185% last month to more than 81,000. “We're hearing from people who are worried about their own physical health, they're worried about their mental health being forced to stay socially distant from other people,” Kudish said. Health care providers predict that even when the COVID‐19 crisis ends, the mental health crisis will continue. They say people will continue to be anxious — this time about leaving home and being convinced it's safe to be outside.