Washington State, known for its dreary, gray weather and depressing atmosphere, ranks highest in adults, 18 years of age and older, who feel symptoms of depression, anxiety, loneliness, or just feeling down.
Although, Washington is at the tops in these statistics, it may surprise readers that the states inhabitants don’t score that much higher than the rest of the country when it comes to depression amongst adults and suicide rates.
The U.S. Census Bureau, a government agency dedicated to providing data on the population, conducted a survey in 2023. This survey took place during the first two weeks of February across the 15 largest metro areas in the country, including Seattle.
The Census “Pulse Survey” is a regularly conducted survey by the bureau to measure education, employment, food security, health, housing, and spending amongst the top 15 metropolitan areas in the United States.
Seattle has consistently ranked number one in adults, 18 years of age and older, who feel symptoms of depression, anxiety, loneliness, or just feeling down. 1.4 million out of 3 million admitted to having these feelings. On the other hand, Dallas is ranked the lowest.
KFF Health News took the results of the Census survey and compared Washington’s numbers with that of the rest of the United States. They expressed that 32.6% of adults in Washington experience symptoms of depression or anxiety compared to the 32.3% of average adults in the U.S.
And although these numbers are not that much apart, the higher rates of these ailments should still be taken into consideration. 0.3% is a large figure out of millions included in the survey.
They also describe a larger amount of adults that deal with depression or anxiety have not had treatment for therapy, in comparison to the national average. In Washington the rate of untreated individuals is 34.4% while nationwide it is 28.2%. That is a 6.2% difference between Washingtonians and the rest of the country.
What accounts for this large difference, most found, was the cost of mental health treatment in Washington. A Mission for Michael, a psychiatric treatment provider, reported that one session of outpatient therapy can vary anywhere from $100 to $500 per session throughout the state.
But what is the cause of the higher numbers? Seattle’s metrics on crime, housing, and standard of living mimic those of highly urban areas, but is there a unique stressor on the people of Seattle?
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), or seasonal depression, is a pattern of depression that sets in with limited light exposure beginning in the fall and winter and going into remission in the spring and summer.
With very rare clear skies for six months out of the year, and a near constant drizzle of rain, the Pacific Northwest spikes in its SAD prevalence, with “seasonal depression” searches and suicide rates increasing during the darker months.
Washington has taken steps to combat this, with allocated mental health treatment facilities for both adults and youth.
The Seattle Weather Blog reported that the city receives 39.34 inches of precipitation per year, with a majority falling as rain, not snow. When considering hurricanes, this is not even in the top 10 list of cities who receive the most rainfall in a year. New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., tie for first with an average of 66.1 inches of rain per year.
What gives Seattle the reputation of being one of the wettest cities is the distribution of rain throughout the year. From pelting drops to light mists, precipitation lingers in the air anywhere from 150-190 days out of the year, with 226 days being overcast throughout the year.
This leaves about 166-206 days without precipitation, and only 90 days of sunshine.
The National Library of Health published in 2023, “In Washington state, the suicide rate from 2015-2019 has always been higher than the national average. In 2019, the Washington state suicide rate was 16.6% and the national average was 14.5%. In 2017, it was the eighth leading cause of death, accounting for nearly 1,292 deaths each year.”
In an interview with an anonymous Washingtonian, they said, “[in] the fall [and winter] season, there will be rain and overcast weather. With the addition of daylight saving, the sky darkens faster, which makes it feel gloomy for me.”
The difference between Seattle’s metrics against the countries when discussing SAD and other depressive disorders are alarming to not only its citizens, but the government as well. The Washington WARM Line has been running as a crisis hotline for those suffering from a mental health episode (877-500-WARM).
For anyone struggling with mental health, Highline offers free mental health counseling with licensed professionals in Building 6. The Suicide Hotline is 988.
We should often check on those around us and ask them if they are doing okay. Just a simple gesture could help improve someone’s day.