KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Between COVID-19, the soaring prices of food, and now the war in Ukraine — life has been stressful. A poll from the American Psychological Association found eight out of ten American adults are significantly stressed.
According to Ben Harrington, the executive director of The Mental Health Association of East Tennessee, double the number of people in Knox County are experiencing depression or debilitating anxiety.
"If we sat on the couch and commiserated about how tough times are, that's only going to stress us out more," he said. "There's not a lot we can do to fight the inflation, but we can as shoppers vote with our feet. And by vote, with our feet, I mean to stick to the list.”
Harrington said getting back to the basics — planning ahead and making some small improvements every day can help.
“You've got to take for yourself. That means get out of the house. Take that dog for an extra walk around the block, something like that," Harrington said.
Folks downtown Friday enjoyed the warm weather but also took some time to focus on their mental health. Each person 10News talked to was going through a stressful time and coping in the best way they know how to – getting out of the house.
"I'm afraid of how it's going to affect my pocket but I'm afraid of how it's going to protect them as well. They're still young and I want to protect them as best as I can," Abigail Leach said, speaking about the children she had with her.
For local Coda Hall, the war in Ukraine is stressful to see on social media.
"I'd love for us all to live in harmony. I wish we could, but that's not the state of the world right now, unfortunately," he said. “You just have to be kind to others."
While people across East Tennessee and the country are worried about rising price tags, there are others moving to the area because of them. Albert Lopez and his wife Kelly are here house hunting over the weekend.
"We're in the process of looking for a home out here. We kind of want to get away from the whole California scene. Expensive prices of everything," he said.
Robin Reed moved here recently, also from California.
"I moved to Knoxville because of the cost of living and so with seeing the gas prices and just going to the store to buy food is a little stressful right now because what I want and what I'm getting are two different things," she said.
There is a lot going on in the world. If you are dealing with any form of depression or anxiety mental health experts say a good place to start is by reaching out to your primary care doctor to see what care options are available.