DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - A new national report recommends all adults under the age of 65 should be screened for anxiety at their annual check-ups. 

These screenings generally consist of 7 questions which ask patients how frequently symptoms occur. 

Dr. Poojitha Kolluri, who practices family medicine at HSHS Medical group in Shelbyville, says she has seen an increase in mental health diagnoses since COVID started. 

"We all know that multiple people have lost their beloved family members, there has been a lot of changes with jobs and education and kids being home and not going to school and financial stuff," said Dr. Kolluri. "I think all of these things are triggering that anxiety of flare ups and people. So there's more of a need now than ever before to cope with this." 

Dr. Kolluri says its critical that medical professionals monitor mental health as heavily as physical health. 

"It's just so important to keep regular follow up with your physician and this is something that we see frequently and we have great medications that can help you so I urge everyone to seek care," said Dr. Kolluri. 

TyKyna Cole, therapist and owner of Cole Counseling Services, said she agrees with the proposed screening process. She said most people don't realize how important the connection between physical and mental health are. 

"Mental health is directly connected to physical health in every way, there's no way to disconnect it," said Cole. "So I think that the importance of talking to a therapist, to talking to your doctor is so important because they are linked together."

Cole says having mental health professionals look into a patient's physical symptom is a part of their code of ethics. She said that targeting anxiety disorders can sometimes resolve physical symptoms patients' have. 

"Your brain sends all the signals to your body, your brain generates the feelings, your brain holds the trauma," said Cole. "Because the brain is the center of it all, we have to make sure the brain is okay.

The CDC reports that 21% of adults are seeking help for their anxiety. They also say 50 million people in the US have an anxiety disorder.