(CNN) More Americans are turning to anti-anxiety medications as the coronavirus crisis has upended everyday life.

Prescriptions for anti-anxiety medicine started climbing in mid-February, spiking 34% by March 15, according to a new report from Express Scripts, a Cigna-owned pharmacy benefit manager. The peak roughly coincides with the World Health Organization declaring a global pandemic on March 11 and states starting to impose stay-at-home orders

The recent increase in usage was nearly twice as high for women, whose prescriptions jumped almost 40%, compared with men, who saw a 22.7% rise.

It's a sharp reversal from the pattern over the last five years, during which the use of drugs known as benzodiazepines -- including Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan and Valium -- declined 12.1%. Doctors have shifted away from prescribing these medications, which are more prone to abuse, in favor of therapy, said Dr. Glen Stettin, Express Scripts' chief innovation officer.

Looking at medications for anxiety, depression and insomnia, prescriptions increased 21% between mid-February and mid-March.