Understanding Mental Health During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Kelley Small talks about the importance of being aware of mental health among college students during COVID-19 and remote learning by sharing her personal experience with the stress of the pandemic.
There is no doubt that every person living in the United States has been affected by this pandemic. Although there are different severities in virus cases, almost every state has put in sanitary measures, restricted flights, and installed a stay at home order. The way we go to the grocery store, interact with each other, and react when we hear a cough has been changed possibly forever. Among these life altering changes of the pandemic, I think the coronavirus is taking a toll on every individual’s mental health to some degree and the way we go about our day-to-day lives.
This pandemic has been a challenge for everyone, but I think college students, including myself, have been tested by stress and mental health. According to Boston University School of Public Health, the pandemic and closure of universities have drastically shifted the mental health of college students across the country by increasing anxiety and depression. I have been quarantined in my house for two months after returning home from college on March 13. This was one day before the start of spring break. At this point my spirits were mostly positive as I still believed we would be returning back to campus after two weeks. I was bummed because my spring break trip to California was cancelled, but I figured I would see my friends soon enough so there was not much to worry about. I quickly learned I was wrong.
An email was sent out on March 25 with the detrimental news from SMU President R. Gerald Turner that we would not be returning to SMU until the fall. This meant I would be living with my parents and two sisters until June. This was still not the end of the world, however every day felt more suffocating than the last. I soon got used to classes online, and stayed in my room for hours on end. There would even be some days where I would not go outside and get fresh air. This was very challenging because I find that I am the happiest when I am with friends and I have a different form of a routine everyday. Being in my house for days on end not knowing when the pandemic would end gave me nothing to look forward to.
Everyone has a breaking point and mine was almost to the surface. I finally lost it one day when I received an overwhelming amount of news within an hour. My older sister had her job offer rescinded which means we can no longer move into an apartment together at the beginning of June. This also means that as of now I have nowhere to live for my junior year. I also got a notification letting me know that summer classes were going to be held remotely. Summer classes were my excuse to get outside and lift my overall morale after my study abroad trip to London was cancelled. And this was taken away as well. The stress was a lot to handle and I had definitely hit my breaking point.
On May 1, 2020, Texas Governor made the decision to end the stay at home order as long as social distancing and other healthy habits remain in place. This decision will be the start of a “phased exit from the social distancing measures meant to mitigate the novel coronavirus pandemic” (LeBlanc CNN). It has only been four days since the end of stay at home and I can tell that not only my spirits, but also those around me have risen. I no longer take little things for granted like eating in a restaurant or having two people over for dinner. I appreciate the presence of friends and family more than ever. I am sure that people are going to be more willing to support local businesses and help each other when out. One thing that I do hope will come out of this pandemic is a sense of unity and appreciation for each other that we did not have before.
