> Masks clearly have a measurable impact on mental health.
Bullshit. Citation?
Bullshit. Citation?
Anecdotally, I have yet to meet a single person IRL over 2 years of the pandemic who enjoys wearing masks. It varies from minor inconvenience to a thorn in your side.
For one, uncontrolled observational studies show that there is pretty strong correlation between the pandemic and depression. [1] In narrow studies, masks are shown to reduce interpersonal trust [2] , ability to evaluate emotions. [3] and might accelerate cognitive decline in older populations [4]
There is an alarming lack of studies directly targeting the mental health impact of masks. I couldn't even find a survey. On one hand, I understand that getting any good self-reported data from the hysterically polarized population is probably futile. I tried to find peer reviewed studies, but I am not a public health / psychiatry professional. On the other hand, silence can be deafening.
Tangentially, my trust in peer reviewed medical research has declined sharply over the pandemic. These folks need statistics, a sophisticated understanding of causality, experiment design and variable control. I can see why many of the best healthcare writers exclusively stick to meta-studies instead of individual studies.
[1] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle...
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-96500-7
[3] https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.5668...
In direct contradiction to what you say, there are many businesses in red state US who will stop you from wearing a mask if you try to enter.
I live in a red state and have not seen this anywhere.
In fact my state encourages you to do what you want, including wearing a mask or refusing to do so. Nobody will bother you if you are masked.
Or "stop you if you try to enter while wearing a mask"?
Or are you talking about wearing a ski mask inside Idaho Regional Credit Union in July?
Jerks are everywhere. And they exist in blue states too my friend.