Prior to the pandemic, one in five Americans reported having some type of mental illness. Now, that number is up to 40 percent according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The isolation, uncertainty and insecurities of the pandemic have perpetuated the increase researchers and physicians have seen in mental illness diagnoses over the past few years. Notes attached to the Resilience Project board on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Kristin Sauerbier, Executive Director of The Neighborhood Center’s mental health crisis line, said that the increase in calls they have seen has reflected that trend.