An 89-year-old woman told her daughter, “Please don’t hide the truth from me. At my age, I can cope with just about anything. It’s the uncertainty that I can’t understand.”

Crisis and stressful situations occur throughout life but are thought to be more devastating in the later years when one may begin experiencing a slowing and/or decline in mental reserve. Therefore, whenever a crisis is coupled with cumulative stress, it tends to stretch the limits of one’s coping capacity. What can emerge is helplessness, lack of self-control and eventually, dependence on others.

According to the researcher Hogstel, “Anxiety is a diffuse feeling of panic, dread and lack of control that can be insufferable in its acute stages.” He further states, “Little is known about anxiety and its numerous manifestations even when it has not reached negative clinical proportions. It is a multi-response to helplessness, isolation, alienation and emotional insecurity. Evidence of anxiety in the elderly is often not as apparent as in younger clients.”

According to the research, “Anxiety is the motor that keeps people moving toward mastery of new and threatening situations.” The researchers Jarvik & Russell claim, “Anxiety runs with a soft, pleasurable purr that is not always perceptible. However, when it’s an extreme or prolonged personal stress, it is likely to initiate episodes of anxiety that is experienced as a noticeable jittering hum in the gastric area.”

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered relationships and once-reliable life, work, school and home routines. More than ever, Americans have turned to virtual mental health programs during this time.

Before the pandemic, nearly one in five U.S. adults (47 million) reported having any mental illness. One in 10 adults reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder. However, by July 2020, several months into the pandemic lockdown, a Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll found that 41% of U.S. adults had reported symptoms.

With mental health care already being critical, the COVID-19 pandemic saw a surge in demand for services and pushed the need for optimal care, including effective digital solutions and virtual options for mental health care delivery into sharp focus.