The Impact of Mental Disorders, Physical Health Conditions, Social Media Usage, and Changes in Employment on Emotional Wellbeing in Colorado

The state of Colorado currently lacks research that looks at the impact of various life stressors on individuals’ emotional well-being, specifically mental disorders, physical health conditions, social media usage, and employment status. This influences the ability of policies to combat the current rising mental health crisis and maximize people’s emotional well-being, making it crucial to gain a better understanding of these factors. The need for this research has been further exacerbated with the rise of the pandemic, as social media usage, changes in employment, and mental and physical health are more volatile than normal. This research study had 55 participants through the use of an anonymous survey sent to residents of Colorado ages 18 and older to analyze and visualize how emotional well-being is affected by these four life stressors. Conducting linear regressions, correlation tests, and plotting our results showed that employment status was the most statistically significant factor in an individual’s emotional well-being, followed by the prevalence of mental disorders. In turn, we recommend that policymakers and other stakeholders in Colorado actively work to combat the negative effects of volatile employment and mental disorders, which will ultimately better the emotional well-being of their citizens.