In some respect, the report affirms what many feel.
“People are feeling overwhelmed by the changes taking place in the world, and for good reason,” Connelly told Automotive News. “But it’s not only the pandemic. There were wildfires across the world, great political tension. We have a social justice movement. Economic volatility.”
Sixty-nine percent of respondents report feeling overwhelmed, according to the survey. But people have also been adaptive and resilient, Connelly says. Forty-seven percent report it has been “easier” to adapt to pandemic-related changes than they initially imagined, including 63 percent of baby boomers.
For younger generations, the pandemic has been more difficult to weather. Seventy-one percent of millennials in the U.S. — the highest of any generation — report they feel more stressed out than a year ago. Even as people seek solitude in transportation, there are widespread feelings of loneliness, which had already been growing pre-pandemic, especially among younger generations.
No surprise then, Connelly says, that accelerating trends include growing awareness of mental health needs during the pandemic and cravings for escape at a time when days can feel like a monotonous blur from one to the next.
“There’s been a rapid rise of mindfulness and meditation,” Connelly said. “Those things have been around for a thousand years, but now they’re very mainstream. People are exploring the benefits. In this moment of uncertainty, it’s become so much more important.”
