Economic woes wearing on U.S. residents

CHICAGO, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A troubling number of U.S. residents are enduring mental health and familial problems as a result of the ongoing economic crisis, psychologists say.

Psychologist Nancy Molitor of Wilmette, Ill., said an increasing number of U.S. residents have begun to seek therapy as a result of stress prompted by the current economic struggles taking place nationwide, USA Today reported Monday.

Molitor said the mental health impact from the current crisis on the nation's citizens has even surpassed that of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

"I've never seen this level of anxiety and depression in 22 years of practice," Molitor said. "The mental health fallout has been far worse than after 9/11."

New York psychologist Joy Browne agreed, saying even U.S. residents with steady jobs are stressed about potentially losing those careers.

"But even if they have jobs, they fear they're going to lose them," he told USA Today. "People are kind of holding their breath."

The newspaper said, according to American Psychological Association surveys before the recent Stock Market crash, nearly one-third of U.S. survey respondents ranked their stress levels as "extreme."