The diseases of despair are three classes of behavior-related medical conditions that increase in groups of people who experience despair due to a sense that their long-term socioeconomic status is bleak. The three disease types are drug overdose (including alcohol overdose), suicide, and alcoholic liver disease. Deaths of despair have increased sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated recession, with a 10% to 60% increase above pre-pandemic levels.