Anxiety-it’s everywhere. If you’re not struggling with it, you certainly know someone who is.

A few years ago, I had dinner with a friend who was working on a film about anxiety. How it shows up, why and what we can do about it. The film is called, Anxious Nation, (www.anxiousnation.com). We sat for hours, discussing her mission, the need for this film and what she hoped to accomplish with it.

At the time, I didn’t understand the crisis that we, as a country, were facing. Now, this was in early 2019, well before Covid-19 and all of the angst that subsequently came about as a result of the pandemic. So yeah, things have gotten worse.

I wanted to know more.

Are we really more anxious or are we just more aware of it?

And if we are more anxious, why?

I have a daughter who is a schoolteacher and a teenage granddaughter. I wanted to get their take on anxiety and how it shows up so I asked for their thoughts. My daughter shared that anxiety is pervasive among school-aged kids, even the younger ones, which makes teaching and learning more challenging. She also mentioned that with many online retailers (like Blessed CBD) providing supplements to combat stress, the elders can somehow manage their anxiety. But kids still struggle to deal with them. My granddaughter said that (she) and many of her friends struggle with anxiety too. CBD is used for sleep disorders and insomnia by many people. There are many factors that can lead to insomnia, including sleep deprivation and physical pain. The fact that CBD (and its products like edibles and CBD oil UK) has apparently shown promise to treat pain and anxiety leads us to believe it might make people sleep better, too. Between social media, FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), and the pressure girls feel especially to live up to some unrealistic beauty standards they see on Instagram, it’s not surprising. Maybe CBD can help these girls too. As CBD is a relatively new concept, it might be a daunting market for an individual to explore. If it was a route you were considering, then you might want to read an article about the best CBD gummies for research on this topic. Alternatively, you could also find it beneficial to see the advice of a medical professional, to see if CBD could be of help.

Before that dinner, anxiety just wasn’t a topic that seemed to organically come up. What I quickly discovered was that whenever I mentioned it to someone, whether a friend or colleague, they were very open and willing to share their personal experiences with anxiety and other mental health issues they cope with, as if I had somehow lifted this shroud of secrecy and shame off the topic. The more I talked, so did others. Talking about it is a good start. And it takes great courage. But it’s not enough. We have to take action by demanding more and better for the people of this great nation-starting with taking care of our mental health.

Here’s why.

Around 44 million Americans are affected by anxiety each year. In other words, they affect about 18% of the US population each year, which makes them the most common type of mental illness in the US. One in three children under the age of 12 suffer from anxiety, and those between 12-18 are even greater at risk. Suicide in the black and brown communities is the second highest cause of death for girls between the ages of 5-12. Suicide rates among children between the ages of 18-24 are at an all-time high and climbing. On most college campuses, anxiety is so rampant, the wait time for an initial mental health screening takes between three and ten weeks. Nearly half of the adults in the United States reported symptoms of depression or anxiety during the pandemic. We simply don’t have the manpower to meet the onslaught and demand for mental health right now. In the workplace, research from the American Psychiatric Association shows that employees with unresolved depression and anxiety issues experience at least a 35% reduction in productivity, resulting in a $210 billion annual loss in the U.S. due to absenteeism, reduced productivity and medical costs. And speaking of medical costs, when it comes to healthcare in our country, 95% of all money spent is allocated to physical health, leaving a paltry 5% of spending on mental health.

We are witnessing a mental health crisis unlike anything we’ve experienced in our lifetimes, yet the majority of mental healthcare today is neither broadly accessible nor affordable. There are many communities in our country that offer no resources and simply have no funding to make them available.

In the richest country in the world, we are failing our citizens. It’s not just that our system is broken-it was never whole. We cannot keep kicking the can of mental health down the road, thinking it will somehow get better. Hopefully, now with additional help from Online Therapist Australia and other countries, and influencers and celebrities equally advocating mental health issues, people turn up to speak and get the help they require. However, this cannot be possible without a systemic change. We are on the precipice of another pandemic, the pandemic of mental health. We must make help accessible and affordable for all, not just for some. Seeing to our well-being shouldn’t come down to a decision between food on the table or seeing a doctor for help. But it often does.

How does anxiety show up in your life? What impact does it have on you, your work, family, and daily routine? Share your story with me. By doing so, you are helping to remove the stigma that surrounds mental health and allowing others to know they aren’t alone in this journey.