Mental Disorders and COVID-19- Cheryl Pruitt

A mind is a place of glass, easy to adore and quickly shattered. 2020 has proven to be a challenging year
in every aspect of life, but the toll it took on all our mental heaths was immense. Record increase in
mental issues was recorded over the course of this pandemic which was not only alarming but also
something of great concern.

With the education institute closed and online teaching/ learning in place, the young minds had a lot on
the plate, a lot more than they were able to handle. This change in the whole system resulted in many
mental issues in youngsters. A survey conducted on 193 university going students concluded that 138
students out of the total sample size had elevated stress and anxiety levels which were due to concerns
about their health and the health of their loved ones. Most of the students face difficulty to concentrate,
which ultimately rose concerns about their academic performances. The monotony of the routine in
quarantine made most of them face disruptive sleep patterns which led to headaches and
mismanagement of time. The decreased social interaction made them feel lonely and left out ("Effects of
COVID-19 on college students’ mental health in the United States: Interview survey study," 2020).

Even the elderly was not speared of this spell of madness. As evident, they have no or significantly fewer
social media interactions and felt more at bay than the younger people who could use social media and
technology to divert their minds. Moreover, the death and diagnosis of people their age made them
fearful for their own lives, and they started to dwell in constant fear of the pandemic ("Psychological
impact of COVID-19 on older adults," 2020).

The parents and teachers who had to cope up with their personal and professional lives while keeping up
with the new form of the school had aggravated stress levels, making them lash out more often than
usual. The immense pressure of maintaining the quality of teaching intact on the teachers made them
stressed more than usual.

The people who suffered the most were the healthcare workers who had to work on the frontlines with
the infected patients. They faced 23-44% higher anxiety levels due to the fear of being infected or
infecting their loved ones. 50.4% more health worker than usual described themselves to be depressed
as they had long working hours and the conditions they faced were adverse. There was a 34% increase in
healthcare workers reporting experiencing insomnia which made their performance not as good as usual
("Physical and mental health impacts of COVID-19 on healthcare workers: A scoping review," n.d.).

The pandemic took a massive toll on every one of us and still, continues to do so but no other time
would be better than this to teach our children how to cope up with all these issues by fighting them
bravely ourselves and becoming an example for them. We need to be brave for those who matter to us,
as they look up to us, so we can’t fall.