Bouncing Back: Study Outlines Pandemic’s Impact On Mental Resilience

From job losses to working and learning from home, the coronavirus pandemic has hit us all hard. As those problems pile up our ability to bounce back is faltering. NBC's Sarah Dallof reports.

(NBC News) — From job losses to working and learning from home, the coronavirus pandemic has hit us all hard.

As those problems pile up our ability to bounce back is faltering according to a new study from global health services company Cigna.

“About 60% of people have a resilience that is at risk,” says psychiatrist Dr. Stuart Lustig, National Medical Executive for Cigna Behavioral Health.

Resilience is the ability to recover quickly from challenges. Lower rates tend to lead to higher stress and anxiety, along with worse mental and physical health.

The recently released Cigna Resilience Index finds just 37% of full time workers are considered highly resilient.

The numbers drop even more as employment status changes.

For younger people, resilience typically dips in pre-teen and teenage years, rebounding in early adulthood. COVID-19 is further impacting that cycle.

“Over half of the kids we surveyed who were entering adolescence, that critically difficult period, told us that they were concerned about COVID, that there was real anxiety about COVID,” Dr. Lustig says.

Fortunately resilience, like a muscle, can be strengthened.

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