We need to talk about America’s mental health crisis – and its larger causes | Robert Reich

The suicide rate is at its highest since 1941. In addition to a stronger safety net, we must face hard truths about US society

I want to talk about an uncomfortable topic that needs much more open discussion than it's receiving: the United States' extraordinarily high level of anxiety.

A panel of medical experts has recommended that doctors screen all patients under 65, including children and teenagers, for what the panel calls anxiety disorders.

Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com