Tracking Marietta's Health

The Community's Biggest Health Challenge: Mental Health

Unfortunately, more people are reporting having poor mental health for 14 or more days than ever before in Cobb County (Data USA, n.d.):

This week, I went to Fetch Park, a private dog park, in Atlanta. I decided to talk to some of the folks there and I got some interesting feedback about how well they think Atlanta and the greater Atlanta area is doing when it comes to health. It was an entire community of dog-lovers and dog owners, so I figured they might have a thing or two to say about health in the community.

A young adult ex-nurse who moved to Atlanta from St. Louis rated Atlanta as an 8 out of 10. She mentioned that overall, Washington D.C. is better than Atlanta because the food, nightlife, social activities are all better and easier, but Atlanta is way better than St. Louis because there are big buildings and successful people everywhere. She mentioned that Atlanta and the greater Atlanta area is very good about providing people with healthy options. According to her, St. Louis mostly has the unhealthy joints and only 3 Pilates studios, but Atlanta has fitness centers every few blocks and several healthy food places, providing people with the power and opportunity to make healthy choices that are accessible to them. As far as mental health is concerned, she felt that it is hard to socialize in Atlanta, causing loneliness and social isolation. She also mentioned that hospitals like Northside are way too stressful and negatively impacted her mental health. She stated that she got her dog to help her cope with the loneliness and work stress. When I mentioned the Chattahoochee River as a mode of stress relief, she admitted that she never heard of it despite it being at least 10-15 minutes away from the dog park. It made me wonder how many other people are unaware of the river due to a lack of water areas in the city. She mentioned that she's been to Lake Allatoona, but that it was way too far for her liking.

I completely related to her situation. I have been suffering from depression for the past two and a half years now and I agree that part of it is due to the loneliness that comes from working remotely and from people not making the time or effort to meet and create experiences in person.

However, the social aspects of the area are relative. Another woman that I spoke with recently moved to Atlanta with her boyfriend from Washington (the state). She stated that she loved how social people are in Atlanta, which is the opposite of what the other resident told me. However, she spoke about it relative to Washington, where people don't even greet her on the streets. She was also not a person of color which could have some impact on her experience in Atlanta as well. It makes me wonder of people of color have more perceived levels of stress due to economic and social impacts that they experience.

I also spoke with a recent GSU graduate who highlighted that the mental health toll she perceives in the community is due to traffic, lack of public transportation, and lack of access to areas outside of Atlanta. I've experienced every challenge she's mentioned. I used to take the bus to take classes at Georgia Tech and I still had to be dropped off because the Marta bus did not reach where I lived in Marietta. It was stressful to have to time myself every day to beat traffic and make the bus on time. That was three to five years ago. Now, I experience the heavy traffic not only in downtown, but outside of downtown as well. People work in the city, but then they live in the greater Atlanta areas...like Marietta, Vinings, and Smyrna. There just seems to be too many people and not enough roads, thus causing tired folks to be more tired and stressed when heading to work and back home each day.

Now, there are several other factors that contribute to the mental health challenges of the city aside from remote work, stressful jobs, economic hardships (especially from inflation), and traffic/transportation barriers. For instance, the new presidential office has caused quite a lot of anxiety and uncertainty in people's lives. Even though half of the residents in Cobb County are Caucasian, the other half are minorities. Most areas are at least moderately diverse in the area, meaning that issues that affect one group of people will likely have some impact on all residents in the area. So, even though the mass deportations of Hispanics that Trump ordered likely has caused immense anxiety in the Hispanic community in Cobb County (and other communities in the nation), it is also impacting other ethnic groups as well. There is an economic impact to the deportation of immigrants, but far worse, is the social impact of people seeing their neighbors, friends, and even family members being attacked and mistreated by the government (Riggall, n.d.). The issue impacts children as well. Imagine being a young child scared out of your mind about what is going to happen to you or if you'd ever see your family members again. The entire situation is heartbreaking, but the community is ready to fight back despite Cobb County Police refusing to disclose if ICE has deported anyone in the county yet (Riggall, n.d.).

However, data matters here. According to Data USA (n.d.), 91.9% of Cobb County residents were US citizens as of 2024. Thus, about 8% are not citizens, but it is unknown how many of those 8% are granted protection or temporary residency which are different from illegal immigrants. It could very well be that a really small percentage of the residents are illegal immigrants, but the stress of the situation is still very much real as news outlets cover cases nationwide.

How to Address the Mental Health Challenge

I went to get some lab tests done at Quest Diagnostics. This is the first time I've tested directly with them instead of through a healthcare provider because I now use telehealth as my main provider. It was a pleasant surprise to see that my lab was going to be taken in a renovated RV.

Quest Diagnostics RV in a Publix Parking Lot in Smyrna.

I'm a huge fan of mobile clinics. I think it is a great solution for improving access to care - even mental health care. What if Cobb County invested in mobile mental health clinics in areas that are at higher risk? Maybe provide remote workers the opportunity to go outside and actually socialize with others in the community. This is why I love Vaunita's approach to Dialysis to the Docks - it gives people with common struggles a place to be their authentic selves and enjoy the company of others like them. It doesn't even have to be water therapy - science shows that dogs and cats have positive effects on mental health and feelings of companionship as well. It breaks social barriers and mental health barriers. This is something that Cobb County can learn from, especially when 87.6% of its population is insured (Data USA, n.d.).