How Covid-19 Affected Students’ Mental Health
Students have numerous daily struggles in their lives. Whether it is school, personal issues, or burnout, students struggle with having to deal with so many different aspects at pivotal moments in their lives. Due to COVID-19, these students had new problems to face on top of the other issues they had.
According to a mental health research paper by Rutgers student Emily Grzesiowski in 2019, 57% of Rutgers students stated that they suffer(ed) from a mental illness in their lives. In a survey report by Rutgers University, they state how about “34.8% of undergraduates students and 27.4% of graduate students suffered from major depressive symptoms, while 35.5% of undergraduate students and 33.8% of graduate students suffered from symptoms of anxiety.
Mental health is an issue that many students will face during their time both before and after their core years at college. Undergraduate students worry about simply getting through their years to get their basic degree, while even graduate students, even if they have a lesser percentage, still face stress during these times.
For Rutgers, it has a few different mental health institutions that students have access to. One, in particular, is the Counseling, Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program & Psychiatric Services (CAPS).
Manda J. Gatto, the Assistant Director of Community Based Services, said Covid-19 created challenges for the broader Rutgers community.
“The pandemic affected everyone, from students to faculty to staff,” Gatto said. “Since Spring 2020, we have noticed an increase in the complexity of the concerns that prompt students to seek help. We are seeing fewer challenges related to general adjustment to college and more complex emotional difficulties, including increases in anxiety, depressed mood, grief/loss, difficulty with socialization and concentration/focus, and increased substance use (especially alcohol and cannabis use).”
While the amount of students who needed mental health help increased, it also affected the complexity of these problems. Since an event like COVID is something that many, let alone students, were unfamiliar with, it created new problems for people, even staff members. COVID affected nearly every major mental health issue, such as depression, losing loved ones, and the feelings of isolation among others.
Gatto also mentioned how more students began increasing their intake of substances. Since New Jersey legalized marijuana, it has never been easier for young people like college students to go to a dispensary or smoke shop to buy whatever they desire. The accessibility of alcohol also allows students of age to easily purchase however much they want for them to feel a level of comfort during their times of stress.
Due to the pandemic, it made it more difficult for facilities like CAPS to see and talk to students.
“During the remote/virtual period, students were no longer able to come physically to the counseling center.” Gatto stated, “Clinical staff not only had to adapt quickly to changes related to providing screening, intake, case management, individual and group services via telehealth, but also making sure students knew what services were available.”
Another major mental health group at Rutgers is Health Outreach, Promotion & Education (HOPE). While they did not respond back, they focus mainly on giving students opportunities like community engagement to advance the wellness and health of students at Rutgers. They train students in creating interactive workshops to help spread awareness of the issues of students’ lives.
For Rutgers students, many shared the feelings of burnout and stress during the semester, as well as during the Covid-19 pandemic.
When asked about feelings of stress and burnout, 3rd-year student Dhruv Kothari stated, “Engineering classes are very rigorous. The subject material is rather difficult, which makes it hard to keep up. For burnout, I have these hard classes and feelings for a whole semester.”
In terms of during and after the pandemic, Kothari stated, “I didn’t feel like I was at college. I didn’t feel a part of the community. I felt isolated from everyone, and that I was missing out on a lot of college life.
For a 3rd year Rutgers student who chose to remain anonymous, “We are getting to the end of the semester, so I’m not as stressed compared to the rest of the semester, but my work ethic has gone down since we’re near the end. For my work ethic, I was able to balance my workload which definitely helped manage my stress. The work is pretty varied, so it’s not too much which keeps things fresh and prevents burnout.”
In terms of during and after the pandemic, the student stated, “To some degree, my mental health degraded since I was so isolated. I guess it did take a toll mentally, and had to stay in my room for the one to two years that Covidkept me in my room. Now that it’s over, nothing really sticks with me, but the fact that it’s not completely gone is a bit worrisome. The paranoia and fear I feel when I hear people saying it might get worse is a bit of a concern.
During the pandemic, students suffered in various ways, whether that is feeling more depressed indoors or feeling few of its effects. But, everyone felt the same feelings of isolation and loneliness. Many students went from going to school and seeing their peers every day to having to be inside by themselves with limited social interaction. While Covid-19 has died down significantly in comparison to its peak in 2020 and 2021, worries still linger about its possible return, or even another disease to take its place.
Now that the pandemic is much less severe than it once was, students are able to return to how things once were. Activities that involve students and people together are a great help for many, and assist in making up for the loneliness that was imposed on many during the pandemic.
Even in situations not related to Covid-19 such as standard school work, burnout can often result from repetitive work. As such, mixing things up gives students a breath of fresh air, and lets them do something different every week or so. But, this ultimately comes down to how the professors decide to distribute and handle the work that they give.
Nonetheless, Rutgers students must always reach out to resources such as CAPS to keep their mental well-being in check.
