It happens almost every night before sleep or when I wake up. It's like a flash and usually doesn't last more than a few minutes before I push it away. At that moment, I try to convince myself that facing my weakness is my strength and to embrace anxiety instead of fighting it. However, contemplating our weaknesses can be genuinely empowering but equally exhausting.
According to WHO, approximately 450 million people worldwide experience some type of mental disorder. In 2020 only, statistics show that 40% of American adults were struggling with mental issues due to the pandemic. However, a new Gallup-Workhuman’s report found that 25% of employees describe being burned out at work "very often" or "always"— meaning that energy, motivation, and productivity is declining for a quarter of the workforce.
I don't know if my daily struggles with anxiety are as bad as the 25% of people on this report. But, still, I suspect that the number of people dealing with stress is also more considerable.
The modern concept of burnout began making tides in 2019 when the World Health Organization officially included the phenomenon in the International Classification of Diseases. After that, the world entered a global pandemic and faced war threats, political polarization, and inflation, and continued moving towards an environmental collapse. These have become global persistent and indefinite stressors, heightening everyone's risk of burnout.
But more recent data is showing an alarming picture of the state of mental health today. As a reference, according to The Harris Poll, about 63% of Americans said the pandemic forever changed their lives. As a result, the survey revealed that the continued hardships fed into unhealthy coping habits such as increased drinking and sedentary behavior. Reports show that adults feel emotionally overwhelmed and fatigued, with 87% agreeing that it "feels like there has been a constant stream of crises without a break over the last two years."
But, as much as we have been working long hours and under unrelenting pressure, and although data shows that the economy has recovered since 2020 – only in the U.S., reports show that the economic recovery from the pandemic has been remarkably fast, with a GDP growth of 5.7 percent in 2021 – it seems it isn't enough and the world’s economy appears to be still struggling. The National Bureau of Economic Research survey showed that nearly 70% of economists predict a recession will start in the first two quarters of 2023. It mirrors what the head of the International Monetary Fund said last Thursday – Kristalina Georgieva, warned that a toxic mix of inflation, higher borrowing costs, and lingering supply chain disruptions increase global recession risks.
An overwhelming wealth of data shows that the burnout driven by today's society's stressors is only getting higher – the hamster wheel and the world's current challenges get more intense daily. Still, the gloomy global economy forecast is a creepy reality check. It begs us to stop and think, "where is this going to end?” So, coping with morning anxiety seems to be a minor problem compared with looking ahead and fearing the end of the day. Something's gotta give.