How frequently do you hear the statement ‘We are living in unprecedented times’? This has been repeated to me ad nauseam, and I am guilty of contributing to its spread in conversation. Depending on your age, socio-economic status, health conditions, political views, and many other variances, the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged and been managed by each of us in a unique fashion. I am a university student and my peers have dealt with the limitations of being sent home and moved to Zoom far differently than elementary school children, middle-aged working adults, or high-risk elders. My immune system is not well suited for COVID… I, unlike many of my contemporaries, am deliberately avoiding the illness, and try my best to follow my county’s guidelines. Of course, I have had a few slip-ups here and there when it comes to large gatherings and constant mask-wearing, but for the most part, I care about acting as a thoughtful, global citizen. This means that emotionally, this is a trying time; like many others around the world, I miss connection and experience. Over a year of traditional college was robbed from me and I often wonder about the consequences on my identity and my future. I am extremely grateful to have a wonderful home and family, as well as access to recourses and health services. I feel blessed to have grown during this period and cherish all of the memories and moments that I never could have imagined. The simplicity of being home with those I love was a blessing. Even though the toughest times of tears and hostility, I am so lucky to have my family and stability and to be alive.
Not everyone has the same outlook on COVID. I am not always appreciating the parts that have allowed me to evolve; I feel stifled and like I am missing out. The days of my youth seem limited and when I am confined and uninspired, that notion invokes a great deal of anxiety. I speak with my friends about their emotional well beings over the past year and there is a wide range of responses. Some people were infected with COVID early on, felt protected by the antibodies, and proceeded to live their lives as though the world were not in crisis. Others have underlying conditions and have not left their home in months; they are lonely and upset with those who behave so disrespectfully, spreading the disease. Many have soothed their worries through drugs, alcohol, sex, medication, eating disorders, self-harm. I wanted to understand from formal studies just how people my age around the world are coping with the hardships because my own inquiries have led me in all different directions. After reading a compilation of well-executed studies, I have come to understand an overwhelming consensus. Students pulled out of college this past year have been emotionally taxed and demoralized which has resulted in heightened levels of depression, anxiety, and stress; adolescents have coped with the chaos and fear through tactics that are often unhealthy for both our emotional and physical conditions.
There are a handful of studies that break down COVID’s consequences on college students’ mental health and behavioral choices. The first study we will review, “Effects of Covid-19 on College Students’ Mental Health in the United States”, used an interview survey to research the stress and anxiety levels of 195 students from a large US public university. 138 students, 71% of the cohort, reported an increase in stress and anxiety due to the pandemic; the stressors causing this shift include: fear and worry about personal health and loved ones’ health, difficulty in concentrating, disruptions to sleeping patterns, decreased social interactions, and heightened concerns about academics. (Son, Smith, Wang, Sasangohar). Another similar study, “Investigating Mental Health of US College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic”, looked at the survey responses from 2031 participants attending Texas A&M; these results indicated that 48.1% of respondents showed a moderate-to-severe level of depression, 38.48% showed a moderate-to-severe level of anxiety, and 18.04% had suicidal thoughts over the course of the pandemic. More than half of the participants indicated an increase in their anxiety levels throughout the pandemic, and less than half indicated that they could sufficiently cope with the related stress (Wang, Hedge, Son, Keller, Smith, Sasangohar). These reports are unnerving.
Both of these studies point to the dramatic emotional setbacks induced by COVID-19 associated strains on university students. It is disconcerting to hear the degree of psychological suffering triggered within a vast majority. The researchers were also taken aback by these results and recommended that we put more resources into developing preventative strategies and interventions to support the wellbeing of this constituency. I agree that we need to expand the conversation around mental wellness and offer greater access to therapeutic services. Students need to realize that this is a novel phenomenon and there is no shame in feeling desolate and uneasy. However, once we confront that apprehension, we need to manage our concerns in a way that will not lead us into danger. Over 18% of respondents contemplated taking their own lives; that fact must not be taken lightly. I think if there was a normalization of addressing our fears and vocalizing when we are struggling, that number of suicidal thoughts would decrease significantly. I am not a psychologist, but I do believe that understanding, even while social distancing, you are not alone in a space of overwhelm and sorrow, could save lives.
Communicating about how we are honestly doing during the pandemic is an essential tool to releasing tension and recognizing that we are all presiding in a collective confusion and loss. For the first time in years, I have a respect and appreciation for our advanced digital culture. We have technology that allows us to virtually engage with others and hold meaningful dialogue instantaneously. We have so many platforms that are mediums to connection and empathy. I mention the value in the digital sphere because it proves to be an asset for alleviating the pains of feeling alone. The following studies are demonstrative of why we need to promote alternative, healthier ways of healing and weathering our moments of despair. These analyses examine the college student’s changes in smoking/vaping habits, alcohol use, and dietary and exercise patterns since the start of COVID.
The “Preliminary Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Smoking and Vaping in College Students” explored how students changed their tobacco use habits before and after campus closures and the probability of students pausing usage upon moving home. The team found that from pre-closing to since-closing, the frequency of smoking and vaping has declined, but the quantity of nicotine consumed was not reduced. Increases in anxiety and moving back with parents were associated with a higher chance of students pausing their nicotine use; however, the more exposure to COVID-related news was related to a higher likelihood of continuing smoking/vaping. It is within reason that in moving back with parents, students were more cautious about the frequency of their nicotine intake; yet when they did choose to smoke, they were not decreasing the amount consumed. With the constant influx of pandemic coverage, students resorted to their smoking habits, undermining the pressures to quit living at home. As much as the participants were constrained by living with their families, COVID-19 is a trigger for drug use.
The trends with alcohol intake follow a similar pattern of cutting back then overcompensating for the reduction. Students limited the number of drinks they were having under their parent’s roofs but made up for lost consumption by spending more days drinking. The study, “Changes in Alcohol Consumption Among College Students Due to COVID-19”, examined how college students shifted their drinking habits after campus closure. The survey showed that the students who moved home after living with their peers decreased the maximum number of drinks they were having per day, but increased days of drinking over the course of a week (White, Helene, Angela, Hayes, Kerri). Those who remained living with their contemporaries or had always resided with their parents simply increased their frequency of drinking. The participants of this study, no matter their living situation, proliferated their alcohol intake over this period. These results work in tandem with the heavy spike in consumption for people over 30; CNN reported that since 2019, pre-COVID, drinking frequency has risen 14%, which averages to one additional day spent drinking per month for 75% of adults (Mascarhenas). This constituency of adults includes those who are parents, so the calculations coincide with the observations from the study only involving college students. Upon returning home, students and parents were drinking more frequently, even if there was a limit on the quantity of alcohol consumed. Many of my peers drank with their parents throughout quarantine, but the drinking culture was not reminiscent of a frat party, for example, where their boundaries around intoxication did not exist.
Alcohol consumption and smoking/vaping are behaviors that were prevalent in student’s lives before leaving campus, and while wild, dangerous conduct was tamed around parents, students continued to use alcohol and drugs as a way to cope with the pandemic. Substances were used to manage stress, as were food and exercise. Over 21 days, researchers monitored the nutritional routines of 176 college students and their subsequent mood states. The study found that exercise was positively associated with eating fruits, vegetables, and fish; the fewer cereals, legumes, and low-fat meat consumed were directly associated with depression and poorer quality of life. Exercise guided healthier dietary choices and brought about positive mood states, whereas lack of exercise was related to worsened mood states and contributed to unhealthy nutritional decisions (Owens, Brito-Silva, Kirkland, Moore, Davis, Patterson, Miketinas, Tucker). Exercise produces endorphins and facilitates a lifestyle that generally enhances our relationships with our bodies and health. Those who choose not to or were unable to move their bodies over the past year were dispositioned to struggle more with mental health issues and a less nourishing diet. A deficit in self-care has an outcome of worsened mental states. No exercise, in turn, associated with unhealthy food consumption- whether that be in the form of overeating, underrating, unnatural/artificial ingredient intake-turned into a further perpetrator of anxiety. When we are insufficiently nourished and immobile, we are put at an emotional disadvantage; when we are down, we are even more unmotivated to practice a healthy lifestyle. We instead turn to junk food and laying in bed, which only sustains the underlying issues. Detrimental health choices become cyclical and are difficult to reverse without counseling and faith for a better future.
We collectively learned the beneficial and harmful ways to treat our worries in 2020. Some households enjoyed the time spent with their families and recreationally laughed over some bottles of wine. People went on walks, did yoga, baked healthy goods, and held onto hope in extreme adversity. Other family units panicked. No one could get along, living in close quarters in large cities...avoiding COVID may have been important but that did not mean wellness was a priority. With so much tension and fear, unhealthy habits appealed as a rescue. As individuals my age reflected on their mental health during the pandemic, the majority felt their stress levels spike. We all handled the uncertainties with a range of tactics, some with healthier long-term consequences than others; yet these studies made very clear that the matter of mental health in college students needs to be addressed with greater urgency. The stress and depression precipitated by the pandemic were prevalent across all age groups, but college-aged constituencies, as the evidence shows, did not have enough knowledge or a skill set to approach this extreme predicament. We were pulled out of a period designated to allow us to experiment with our identities and were prevented from experiencing freedom. It seemed that there was no solution but to rebel within our own homes and wallow in our sadness. We needed guidance to show us that this time of hindrance does not call for us to waste away our bodies or pull ourselves into dark places. There were so many other ways to evolve as human beings over quarantine and so many young people did not have mentors supporting them through the process. We did not have to stoop to eating disorders, alcohol, tobacco, or self-harm as a quick fix.
Mental health is a prominent problem for students at universities across the country. We already are tasked with ‘growing up’. Every adult knows that there were years in their youths where they felt discouraged and confused. Those sentiments occurred without a global pandemic weighing them down. Now, my peers and I are scared because there are so many unknowns about the future of our world and our identities. Usually, we look to elders to remind us that we will persevere, but our parents and advisors have not experienced a complication like COVID. That being said, they have powered through other hurdles and carry the wisdom of how to recenter thoughts and act with intent and composure. No one holds the guaranteed resolutions to COVID, but there are people that are experts in creating a headspace that uplifts us and taps into our potentials when we are at our lowest points. Students are desperate for assistance in finding a place of mental and physical wellness because we know that our behaviors are only momentary numbing to the stress; the prolonged remedies need to be publicised.
Works Cited
Alexander W. Sokolovsky, Andrew W. Hertel, Lauren Micalizzi, Helene R. White, Kerri L. Hayes, Kristina M. Jackson. Preliminary impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smoking and vaping in college students, Addictive Behaviors,Volume 115, 2021
Mascarenhas, Lauren. “Americans over 30 Have Been Drinking More during the Coronavirus Pandemic, Research Shows.” CNN, Cable News Network, 30 Sept. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/09/29/health/americans-drinking-more-pandemic-wellness-trnd/index.html.
Nora E. Charles, Stephanie J. Strong, Lauren C. Burns, Margaret R. Bullerjahn, Katherine M. Serafine. Increased mood disorder symptoms, perceived stress, and alcohol use among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychiatry Research, Volume 296, 202.
Owens MR, Brito-Silva F, Kirkland T, Moore CE, Davis KE, Patterson MA, Miketinas DC, Tucker WJ. Prevalence and Social Determinants of Food Insecurity among College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nutrients. 2020
Son C, Hegde S, Smith A, Wang X, Sasangohar F. Effects of COVID-19 on College Students’ Mental Health in the United States: Interview Survey Study, J Med Internet Res 2020.
Wang X, Hegde S, Son C, Keller B, Smith A, Sasangohar F, Investigating Mental Health of US College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Survey Study. J Med Internet Res, 2020
Wenjun Cao, Ziwei Fang, Guoqiang Hou, Mei Han, Xinrong Xu, Jiaxin Dong, Jianzhong Zheng. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China, Psychiatry Research, Volume 287, 2020.
White HR, Stevens AK, Hayes K, Jackson KM. Changes in Alcohol Consumption Among College Students Due to COVID-19: Effects of Campus Closure and Residential Change. Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs. 2020
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