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Braden Burger

English Composition II

Ashley Wright

4/29/2022

How has the pandemic affected people’s mental health?

Mental health has been a hot topic in recent years and has been the main cause for

depression and anxiety in kids and adults. Events like the Covid-19 pandemic are just another

problem for people to deal with. Researchers have seen an increase in therapy and counseling

appointments and an alarming increase in suicides, especially in kids and young adults. The

effects of the pandemic are not only changing people’s lives, it's ending them. Covid-19’s effect

on the world has been detrimental to people’s mental health.

December of 2019 saw the introduction of a new disease discovered in a local town in a

remote part of China. As it made its way through the town, infecting more people, it soon was

spread across multiple towns and cities. When doctors discovered this new disease, they put the

confirmed case cities on lockdown and set up a perimeter to contain the outbreak. This effort was

nullified as cases were now national and there was no way of containing it anymore. China

released a statement to the world stating that they have discovered a new disease labeled

Covid-19 and that they had the situation under control. Countries soon began shutting their

borders in trying to prevent the disease from entering their country, but it was too late. Many

countries reported a small number of cases and were all setting up plans for containment. The

problem was that at the time, experts did not know that a person could be infected with the
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disease for days without showing any symptoms and could have already spread it to another

person before feeling any effects. Once government officials realized the severity of the

situation, the best plan they saw was to have all non-essential businesses to close down and that

all people are required to wear masks in all public situations. For the rest of the population, a

self-quarantine and lockdown was highly advised to limit the spread of the disease and most

schools and businesses switched to online operations. When vaccinations came out, it was the

first time the rules and regulations were lessened and the world started to open up again. As the

pandemic slowed and people got vaccinated, more rules and regulations were uplifted and the

world is now mostly back to normal.

The thing that is not going back to normal is the mental health of the population, and

more specifically; students' mental health. Many of the universities flipped to online learning

during the pandemic to allow for class to continue as scheduled. Students are finding it harder to

learn online instead of learning in person. These students have felt more pressure and anxiety not

having the freedoms of in person learning that they have had before with sixty one percent of

students feeling that it has been harder online than being in person (Lee). A poll was conducted

asking university students if they prefer online learning to in-person learning and why with 68%

of people said that they prefer in-person learning to online because they like seeing it live and to

have the opportunity to talk and ask questions. Grade schools are having the same problem.

Younger kids in grades 1-3 and kids in grades 7-12 are having a hard time not seeing school

friends and interacting with each other. Schools that were online that are now in person are

noticing a huge drop in mental maturity and cognitivity from past years of in person classes.

These students struggle with following rules and completing tasks and become uninterested in

class material when they do not understand the topic. There is a program started at Lebanon City
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Schools in Ohio that sends kids in grades 11-12 to the lower grades to excite and encourage the

kids to keep learning and keep going until the school year ends. This has shown a noticeable

improvement in students' interest in school, but still leaves the problem of students not knowing

class material.

Students who cannot comprehend a topic can not get the help they desperately need,

which causes severe self-doubt and depression to set in. Being locked in your living space with a

computer and your thoughts for hours on end everyday is a major mental strain on these students

to keep a level-head to complete their material and has caused many students to break from the

pressure they have on them. I recently had the privilege of meeting Ohio’s Governor, Mike

Dwine, at the April 6th Capitol Drive Chamber meeting. Dewine spoke about mental health

problems in young kids and adults. Dwine stated that “we have always had a problem with the

mental health of our youth, and the pandemic has only worsened those problems.” Dewine was

asked again later if the government has recognized the impacts the pandemic has had on student

performances in classes and their extracurriculars. He responded with “We have seen that the

pandemic has affected these kids' way of learning, I do not know of any problems with students

in their extracurriculars but there is a problem with their performances”. The government has

seen that the pandemic has had a negative impact on kids' performance and how it puts so much

more unrelenting stress on kids and causes them to break under the pressure.

Sadly, a lot of the time this pressure gets to these students and causes them to inflict self

harm. High schools and univeristies are having a massive problem with suicides. High School is

hard for teens as it is their last step before adulthood. During this time, students feel helpless and

alone and cause irrational thoughts to occur. They start to noticeably act differently and are

usually written off as mood swings or nonsense by parents. It is only until it is too late that
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people try to get these teens help. This problem has only worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Students now have no escape from their thoughts and instead have to sit alone trying to fight off

their thoughts. My local high school unfortunately has seen this first hand. A student who was

online was struggling not seeing people everyday and not getting help on classwork and he chose

the only path that made sense. Problems like this are only increasing as time goes on. Teens who

are dealing with these thoughts have to keep fighting this losing battle as the lockdown and

mandates still continue to be enforced.

High school is not the only place this is seen either. Many universities are seeing a

nation-wide increased rate of college students anxiety, depression and suicide. In an interview

from the New York Times, A student was stating that the university has had three suicides from

first year students who could not handle being forced to stay in their room from the pandemic.

The university still had students learning remotely and that many local shops and restaurants

were shut down from the mandates caused by the pandemic. This limits students to a very few

things they can do. Being able to step outside and go for a walk or visit a local shop or restaurant,

is a great way to clear the mind and to calm it down. Now that these places have been shut down

or are not available, these students have no place to go or no escape to escape to. They are

expected to sit alone in their room with their own thoughts and feelings with nothing to help

them. Universities underestimated the effect the pandemic would have on its students and were

well underprepared to provide any help to students.

All universities have counseling or trained therapists on campus to help students who are

struggling mentally get back to feeling good about themselves. Before the pandemic, these

personnel were quite effective. Now that the pandemic has hit, hundreds of students have flooded

their offices seeking needed help and guidance. The problem is that therapy appointments are not
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a one time thing. Multiple appointments are set to check in on the patient for updates on how it

was going and what to do next. Therapists could manage doing a small number of students while

remaining effective, but they cannot keep up with hundreds of students' lives and build a

personal relationship with these people. Many therapists become overwhelmed and leave their

university jobs for less intensive work. While some leave, others take extended vacations or

simply do not show up for their shift. These therapists need to keep their own mental health in

check and need time off to have a break from all the stress they endure. This leaves the

universities with two problems. The first problem is that therapists who leave, cannot find

replacements. The therapists who seek other jobs cannot find others to take their place, for the

same reason they left, it's too much stress (New York Times). Universities are even offering

smaller hours and extended time off to entice people to take these jobs, but to no avail. The job

itself is just too stressful for people and creates a massive problem for the university and its

students. The other problem is that it leaves the students without any help for a long period of

time. Students who have depended on therapists no longer have them to help and cannot find

help either.

All of this has contributed to an increase in university students anxiety and depression.

Locking down all businesses prohibits any escape that the students could go to and relieve stress

or clear their mind or talk to friends. Being social is a necessity in people's lives. Everyone needs

to get out and go for a walk or visit a local store. With the pandemic limiting this factor, many

people have felt a massive increase in stress and anxiety from not being able to have these

freedoms they once had. Studies show that 41.7% showed an increase in anxiety and 30.6% of

depression (Mayo Health Clinic). Not having the option to be social leaves students with having

to sit alone with their thoughts for days on end without any escape or help. And for the
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universities that have therapists as an option to these students, they cannot keep these positions

filled as the therapists get overwhelmed and simply cannot handle the amount of students and

stress the position has. This gives the students absolutely no help and all the stress continues to

sit and weigh on these students shoulders. When people have all this stress and no place to

release it, there is one action that can remove it all and sadly for many people, they choose that

action. Universities are seeng their suicide numbers increase at an alarming rate with some close

to doubling and cannot find help for these students.

Students are just a portion of the people affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic. It has been

espeically hard for non-binary and gender fluid people as they cannot go out and express

themselves. Being locked in your living space for weeks on end only being allowed to get

groceries has had a massive impact on their community and ideas as a whole. 51.4% of people

who identify as non-binary have reported worsened employment situations during lockdown.

Regarding housing conditions, 13.9% stated that their house was not suitable to live in during

lockdown. 28.2% reported being worried about new relationships (Jacques-Aviñó). Having the

freedom to go out and express yourself to the public has helped this community spread their

word to others. Now that that freedom has been taken away, many of this community cannot

express themselves and become trapped similarly to the students. People who have decided to

come out are also dealing with massive problems. Coming out is a celebratory day for this

community. There is usually a large party for this person to make them feel as welcome and as

inclusive as possible. Having places shut down and people locked in their rooms means that

these large parties no longer take place. Covid-19 also restricted gatherings larger than 10

people at one time which was especially tough on all people. Not having this celebratory party

has really dampened the idea of coming out for some people and these people do not feel as if
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they are welcome and accepted as they have seen others in the past with large parties and support

from tons of people and now they have no one to support and celebrate with them. Many people

often become depressed and sad after coming out thinking that it would be the best day of their

life and now seek help from therapists on if they have made the right choice on coming out or

not.

Medical personnel are another group of people affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Hospitals have now become overrun with patients needing help and many of these hospitals are

at max if not exceeding max capacity. This stretches the already thin staff to a breaking point

trying to tend to all of the patients. These medical workers tend to slow and become lazier as

they have so much work that it overwhelms them (Hannemann). There is a massive link to

higher stress levels and anxiety in doctors and nurses and the increasing threat of the pandemic

with many statistics showing that increased levels of resilience and emotion-focused coping

strategies present in the doctors and nurses.

Having our medical staff overwhelmed and overstressed is a massive problem. These

people are supposed to be the people saving lives and helping those in need, but they cannot help

themselves. If a medical worker is stressed out, it would cause them to start thinking irrationally

and even lash out at others unintentionally. Experts say that being stressed out is similar to

having little or no sleep; when you have little sleep, you become more aggressive and irrational

and often have little or no patience. Having our medical staff behaving this way would be

terrible. Covid-19 has caused our medical personnel to become over-stressed with an immense

increase in work and is causing them to need time off from work to prevent their mental health

from declining.
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While Covid-19 has had a traumatic effect on peoples mental health , It has also

introduced new things to peoples lives. One of the most noticeable changes was the widespread

use of online communication apps like zoom that allowed businesses to continue to operate while

staying at home. It also allowed families to communicate with loved ones in hospitals or

retirement homes that were off limits to the public. Many hospitals and nursing homes prohibited

guests from coming in because of the pandemic. If one of these places got covid inside it's

building, it was almost a guaranteed disaster for both the residents and the staff. Many people

complained that not being allowed to see their loved ones was a crime and that they have a right

to see them, but these places argued that these apps like zoom are a great alternative instead.

People could join meetings and attend classes though apps like these that allow you to

communicate with each other easily and does not require an expensive or large set up. This

helped some smaller businesses and companies to stay operational during the pandemic. This

also helped these companies keep job positions open. At the start of the pandemic, many jobs

were cut in order to save money and many of these positions were not able to be filled because of

the mandates. Having the ability to work from home has allowed job positions to remain open

giving people much needed jobs to help cover bills. One job that was quick to take use of this

feature was counseling and therapy. Therapists who had in person meetings have now switched

to online meetings as they claim that it is easier for both parties and allows the people to have a

safe place to be in when on the phone. There are those who go as far as to say that the pandemic

has no effect on mental health and that it helped peoples productivity in their jobs. Companies

like New York Life state that they have seen an increase in job performance and an constant

increase in sales. The company believes that because the workers are able to stay at home, they

are more comfortable which prompts them to work and increases their productivity as they are
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able to spend more hours working instead of losing time commuting and or traveling for sales

calls.

While this seems like a great answer to the problem the pandemic has presented, it turns

out that it is more of a problem than a solution. New York Life is a life insurance company that

sells life insurance to families in case of a tragedy in the family. The sole reason New York Life

is seeing an increase in sales is from families that are scared of getting covid and losing their life

and leave nothing for their families when they pass. These families then buy life insurance to

protect their family in the unfortunate case in which they pass on from covid. The problem about

better access to therapy is not solved either. There has always been a small group of people who

used over the phone or video call appointments for therapy, but since the pandemic has hit, there

has been a massive surge in online therapy appointments. The same problem university therapists

were dealing with is the same as the online therapists. A therapist can only have a certain number

of clients before they become overwhelmed and cannot think and function effectively. There has

been upwards of a 40% increase in online therapy appointments nationwide and there are just not

enough therapists to meet the increase in appointments (Novotney). Same as university

therapists, they become overwhelmed and take time off to get their mind straight in order to help

their clients effectively. This gives the people seeking help a false hope thinking that online

therapy will help them and they see that there are no appointments or that their therapist cannot

find time for them and leave when they are most needed. This inturn makes the person once

again feel utterly and completely alone and causes even more damage and problems for the

person’s mental health.

The pandemic has completely and effectively destroyed people's mental health and has

not shown any signs of benefits to the public in the slightest. Many times it is hard to see as
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people are not out and socializing like they used to. The Covid-19 pandemic has hit college

students hard keeping them from learning and sadly driving some to self harm. It has affected the

non-binary and gender fluid community by nullifying their ideas of spreading thier beliefs by

keeping them indoors and making some feel trapped and lost. Perhaps the worst of it is its impact

on our medical field. With full hospitals needing more room to put patients has put a massive

strain on our medical personnel causing them to buckle and break under the immense pressure

they have to carry to the pressure it puts on therapists. Having so many new clients overwhelmed

the therapists driving some off college campuses in search of less intensive work while others

take time off because they simply cannot handle the amount of clients they now have. The

pandemic has put a lot of stress on our public and medical personnel and has put them in a bad

place mentally. Covid-19 and its effects have had a traumatic effect on people's mental health

and show no signs of stopping any time soon.

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Works Cited

Hannemann, Julian, et al. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of

medical staff considering the interplay of pandemic burden and psychosocial

resources-A rapid systematic review." PLoS ONE, vol. 17, no. 2, 22 Feb. 2022, p.

e0264290. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A694552572/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-OVIC&

xid=f05be924. Accessed 6 Mar. 2022.

Jacques-Aviñó, Constanza, et al. "Social conditions and mental health during COVID-19

lockdown among people who do not identify with the man/woman binomial in

Spain." PLoS ONE, vol. 16, no. 8, 20 Aug. 2021, p. e0256261. Gale In Context:

Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A672705595/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-OVIC&

xid=e00ccd6d. Accessed 6 Mar. 2022.

Lee, Jenny, et al. "Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of US college students."

BMC Psychology, vol. 9, no. 1, 8 June 2021, p. NA. Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints,link.gale.com/apps/doc/A665425013/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=bookm

ark-OVIC&xid=5b4dbd9a. Accessed 6 Mar. 2022.

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Mayo Health Clinic. “Covid-19: How to Manage Your Mental Health during the

Pandemic.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research,

23 Nov. 2021,

www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/mental-health-covid

-19/art-20482731.

New York Life Newsroom. “New York Life Announces Strong 2020 Financial Results

Underscoring Company's Enduring Financial Strength.” New York Life Announces

Strong 2020 Financial Results Underscoring Company's Enduring Financial

Strength, www.newyorklife.com/newsroom/2021/2020-financial-results.

New York Times, et al. "Mental Health on Campus Amid Covid." New York Times, 5 Jan.

2022, p. A18(L). Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A688652228/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-OVIC&

xid=f2786264. Accessed 6 Mar. 2022.

Novotney, Amy. “A Growing Wave of Online Therapy.” Monitor on Psychology,

American Psychological Association, Feb. 2017,

www.apa.org/monitor/2017/02/online-therapy.
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