Dr. Lynn Bufka, PhD Senior Director of Practice Transformation and Quality at the American Psychological Association, joins Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous discuss the mental health impacts due to the pandemic.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: We want to talk about our mental health one year into this pandemic. And joining me now is Dr. Lynn Bufka of the American Psychological Association. Doctor, tell us-- I mean, a lot of us have gone through really challenging times this past year losing loved ones to the virus, being sick ourselves. Tell us what some of the-- the major mental health issues have been over the past year.

LYNN BUFKA: You know, both in APA's own survey research and in survey research from many, many other organizations and entities, we're seeing higher levels of stress, more diagnosed anxiety disorders, diagnosed depression. We're seeing a segment of the population that has had traumatic reactions to everything that's going on. So overall, an increase in mental health concerns across the board for people who've been affected directly by the virus or people who have experienced changes because of what we needed to do to try to contain the virus.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: I also went through this report, and I think a lot of people can relate, 42% reporting they gained more weight than they had intended to, calling them, right, the pandemic pounds. Of those, they gained an average of 29 pounds. Talk to me a little bit about how people can sort of get out of that rut as we come out the other side of this thing.

LYNN BUFKA: Yeah. Yeah. And the other part of it, you know, we had almost 20% telling us that they lost an unintended amount of weight as well. So clearly, stress has been affecting our behaviors and how we're coping during this time. Some of it could be because we're just not as active as we may have been prior to shutdowns and lockdowns and all of that. And some of it is how we have tried to cope with times that have been really difficult.

So you know, don't judge what's happened. What's happened has happened. What's going to be important is how we do things moving forward. And things like finding a buddy to be accountable with, maybe somebody else that you know has gained some weight that they didn't mean to, how can you work together to support each other to return to your healthier habits of regular activity and healthier food choices?

And also things like what can you do in your day-to-day life to move more to ensure that the kinds of snacks and foods that really nourish your body and make you feel good are readily available, like keeping apples or fruit near you as you work as opposed to a candy dish. So really, it's sort of making it easy for ourselves to make the choices that are healthier and better for us.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: You know, another thing that a lot of people were doing more of during this pandemic is drinking. I mean, all you have to do is look at sales, especially of hard alcohol, to see that with all the time spent at home and bars closed, they were buying more of that top shelf liquor and drinking it. And according to this Harris poll, nearly one in four adults reported drinking more alcohol to cope with their stress. What would your advice be to those folks and maybe to the people who don't realize that they are now having a drinking problem?

LYNN BUFKA: Yeah, you know, for any of us over the past year, we've probably done some good things to cope with our stress and some things that haven't been so healthy. So it's really a good time to evaluate, what am I doing to take care of me and take care of me in a way that is healthy? Alcohol, occasional alcohol, experts tell us, is going to be OK. But if our increased drinking has gone above what's a healthy amount, then we really do want to try to find other things to do instead of turning to alcohol.

For some of us, it may be a habit where we've just-- it's easy, it's accessible, and so that's what we do. So it might be inserting some other kinds of behaviors instead, making sure you have a glass of water and drink the whole glass of water before you have some sort of alcohol. But for others who really are finding it very hard to stop the amount of alcohol that they're consuming, that might be time to reach out to a professional or to connect with a group like Alcoholics Anonymous or other support groups that really work with individuals who have identified that substance use is something that's really a problem in their lives at the moment.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: And what would you say, finally, to those people who are-- feel really desperate and isolated right now? Because I mean, you know, with all the Zooms that we've been doing, even though we are still able to connect on some level, that can feel really super isolating for a lot of folks. What are some practical things they can do to feel like they're sort part of the mix?

LYNN BUFKA: Yeah, absolutely. In fact, we know that Zoom, Zoom, Zoom all the time is really hard for a lot of reasons, which we don't have to go into right now, but finding things that are engaging with you and connect you to others. So technology is one way we can connect with others. For much of the country as the weather becomes a little bit nicer, we have more opportunities to be outside.

So thinking about are there ways to have physically distanced maybe masked get-togethers with another friend, whether it's going on a hike or being outside together and sitting spaced apart and having a conversation in the flesh, as we used to do? So finding activities that abide by, still, the current public health expectations, but are also enjoyable and able to be done. So we're really encouraging people to think about how they can be outside to do that.

Other kinds of things to think about, are there activities or hobbies that really are kind of new and engaging? So it's not just so much a talk to your friends over Zoom, but maybe you all make a pie together. It doesn't have sort of that same Zoom pressure, and it's an activity that everybody maybe enjoys doing. Or whether it's quilting or crafts of some sort, many people are finding that activities help them connect to others who share similar interests. And we would suggest people do that in a pandemic or not.

And I guess the last thing is to really, if you're having a hard time connecting, make a little extra effort. And it's so hard. When we feel depressed or anxious, it's harder to make the effort to do the things that are good for us. But be honest with somebody that you're close to and let them know, I've been really struggling. I need to feel more connected to people.

Would it be possible for us to just set up a regular phone date? Or what could we do so that we are more in each other's lives than we have been? And-- and try to find that person who you know has been a good source of support to you in the past that you feel like you have sort of a relationship there where you can talk about some of the things that you've really been struggling with.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, sound advice, and it can be really tough to feel like we're not just in this alone, but we have got plenty of company. Dr. Lynn Bufka, Senior Director of the American Psychological Association, thanks for your time today.