Levels of lifetime and current depression are at an all-time high for Americans this year, according to a new poll.
The rate of Americans who report that they were depressed at some point in their lives hit 29% this year, according to a Gallup poll published Wednesday. The reported level of those currently depressed hit 18%. Both figures mark an all-time high in Gallup’s polling data.
The trend of depression levels tracked by Gallup shows a clear spike since the pandemic. The lifetime depression rate in 2019 was 21.6%, which jumped to 28.6% by 2021. Levels of current depression steadily rose from 12.5% in 2019 to the current rate of 17.8%.
