–By Eli Hughes and Madelin Shelton
A recent study that analyzed the mental distress of Americans based on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention data showed that Kentucky ranks high across multiple age groups.
DirectCBD, a company specializing in canibid oil procucts products, analyzed the CDC’s data and found that Kentucky had the fourth highest increase in mental distress.
Kentucky also ranked 14th among the states for highest rate of mental distress for Generation Z and 19th for Millennials.
The data, which covered 14 years of information from 2004 to 2018, sought to see how many Americans experience mental distress on a regular basis.
They found that women are much more likely to experience mental distress. Generation Z women with a 64% rate of distress.
The state of Kentucky’s rate of mental distress increased from 29% to 35.7%. The study believes that possible factors could include the shortage of mental health resources and the opioid crisis.
Dr. Gordon Strauss, a professor at U of L and the director of student mental health services, says that the first step to stopping this rise of mental distress is ending the stigma around mental illness.
“If we can begin to regard mental illness as just one more instance of illness in general, much of the shame and avoidance can be reduced or even eliminated,” Strauss said.
Strauss also highlighted the many resources available to U of L students who are struggling, “The university Counseling Center provides therapy and counseling—both 1:1 and in groups—for students.”
The university also has a psychiatric department as a part of Campus Health Services where students can be evaluated and treated for mental illness. Both the Counseling Center and Campus Health Services provide these services free-of-charge.
For more information, visit the Counseling Center’s website at https://louisville.edu/counseling or call their number at (502) 852-6585.
The full study can be found at https://www.directcbd.com/blog/how-stressed-is-america/.
File Graphic // The Louisville Cardinal
