Through all the divisive issues of 2020, Americans have shared at least one common trait: skyrocketing stress. The answer is the church.
Writing for the Christian post, pastor David Jeremiah writes — “The American Psychological Association calls it a ‘national mental health crisis’ with potentially ‘serious health and social consequences for years to come.’ Columbia University professor of clinical psychiatry Michael Liebowitz said the pandemic is ‘a huge added stress factor.'”
This makes the spike in anti-anxiety medications understandable. Prescriptions rose by 34 percent in a matter of months when the pandemic broke out.
People have attempted to decrease their stress through entertainment, alcohol, and prescription or recreational drugs. In Oregon, its citizens just voted to make virtually all drugs legal even those which have often proved lethal.
But people of faith in America appear to have a better solution: weekly church attendance.
Measuring by gender, ethnicity, income level, age or political affiliation, a Gallup survey shows that Americans all reported a decrease in their mental health in 2020. That is to say, Americans in every category except for one. Regular churchgoers comprised the only group that actually improved in their mental health during this turbulent year.
Here’s one explanation. Perhaps the lack of busyness, with fewer places to go, have allowed Christians to enjoy more solace from God.