The Effects of the Corona Virus on Mental Health

         It is no secret that the Covid Pandemic took its toll on the entire world. Fear struck the population and spread just as fast as the virus. The effects from this disease lead to further complications in our society as mental illness skyrocketed. Although it is clear to see how mental illness became a pandemic of its own, it is just as important to understand why.

        Grmawit Wolde, an emergency room nurse in Manhattan, explained the effects of Covid she saw first hand. Nurse Wolde noted the difficulties trying to handle the pandemic professionally, when “The amount of patients that were dying was overwhelming.” which she explained took a mental toll on hospital staff. However with treating patients she noticed “A rise in mental health cases in my department. Most of them seem depressed and sad.” She went on to further explain the effects of watching multitudes of people fall ill can be extremely negative on your mental health, but children were seeing this too. It seemed that was all the news had covered. Covers of papers displayed piles of bodies in India, and crowded hospitals in the United States. And this can be harmful to young adolescents.

        Soula Russell, a psychology student working in her master degree added to this with her outlook of the pandemic. Russell explained she felt “I think kids have been hit the hardest, honestly.” and many factors play into this strong statement. Not only did the “Lack of socialization and difficulty coping to the current change”, that nurse Wolde noted, play a role but so did the school environment; in a way you may not have thought of.

    Russell explained that oftentimes when an adolescent or even college student is struggling that “The teachers are usually the first to notice, and report it.” without this crucial element of support, students were less supported. Russell went on to explain that with classes going online, teachers were unable to pick up on signs of mental illness in a time where students needed it most.

       Many Teachers are trained to pick up on signs of ‘ACES’, which stands for adverse childhood experiences, where many students exhibit signs of trauma. However without teachers being able to pick up on these signs children in unconventional home life felt isolated. Russell also noted that mental health officials were overwhelmed and the office she interned with was flooded with new patients to the point they could no longer accept new ones.

    From isolation to lack of socialization students began to exhibit mental illnesses at such a rapid rate that our mental health care industry was not prepared for. This led Russell to believe in her strong claim that covid had affected students' mental health the most.

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