American Anti-Anxiety Drug Use Rises 34.1%, Antidepressants 18.6%, Anti-Insomnia 14.8%, Illegal Drug Use Unknown

Overwhelmed with unwanted sad feelings at the ongoing destruction of their livelihoods, many Americans are taking refuge in the timeless wisdom of Jordan Peterson, rising up to clean their rooms and get themselves addicted to happy pills.

MarketWatch:

The coronavirus is taking a toll on mental health.

The number of prescriptions for antidepressant, anti-anxiety and anti-insomnia medications filled per week increased 21% between Feb. 16 and March 15, 2020, according to a new report by Express Scripts, a Cigna-owned pharmacy benefit manager. The study analyzed prescription claims filled between Jan. 19 and March 15 of this year among a sample of more than 31.5 million commercially-insured individuals, and found that claims peaked during the week ending March 15, when the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.

Anti-anxiety drugs saw the biggest spike, jumping 34.1%, which was more than double the number of insomnia aids (14.8%), and almost twice as high as antidepressants (18.6%).

“This analysis, showing that many Americans are turning to medications for relief, demonstrates the serious impact COVID-19 may be having on our nation’s mental health,” the report concluded.

People used to think that the final task of civilization would be to colonize the stars, but it turns out that it’s actually just to produce and distribute drugs that make people forget about this and all other ambitions. The modern man’s final quest is not to conquer reality, but to escape it.

As things continue to break down and people realize that they will never get their old lives back, the curve of drug use will continue to rise. Alcoholism appears to have risen, with alcoholic drink sales up 55% during March 14-21 compared to last year.

Illegal drug use also appears to have risen, though it is very difficult to measure illegal things accurately. In theory, it should rise since it tends to correlate directly with unemployment. The CDC has not yet released information on drug overdose during the coronaflu, but many US counties have already begun independently reporting spikes in overdoses.

ABC News:

With millions of Americans forced into weeks of extended isolation, several communities have reported a spike in drug overdose deaths, prompting health officials to raise concerns about the safety of those suffering from substance use disorders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Jacksonville, Florida, the fire and rescue department reported a 20 percent increase in overdose emergency calls in March. In Columbus, Ohio, the county coroner’s office saw a surge in overdose deaths, including 12 in a 24-hour period the first week of April. And in New York State, at least four counties have acknowledged an increase in reported overdoses, including Erie County, where officials saw at least 110 drug overdoses, including 36 deaths, reported since the beginning of March.

“I think we need to consider the role that social isolation coupled with non-stop reporting on the pandemic may have on the feelings of desperation and hopelessness among those struggling with substance abuse,” U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York James Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “Amidst the current crisis, we need to remember that substance abuse existed long before COVID-19, and it will likely remain long after we have wiped out the virus.”

Society will soon become further divided into two camps: those of us who will embrace this new reality of impending post-apocalyptic rape-gang warlordism, and those who will fold in on themselves, take their drugs, and hope that the earth would open up and swallow them down into a warm, happy place of darkness eternal.

Perhaps one day, far into the future, there will be no more people who prefer sedation to reality, because they will have all already sedated themselves out of the gene pool.

If you choose to carry on, you should begin to mentally prepare yourself now for the possibility that people you know and care about will not be able to make it in the new world.

Remember, this is what they chose.