While the mainstream media repeat without question the new rules that politicians, bureaucrats, businesses, and the education system invent which have instantly – and negatively – altered life as we know it that existed previous to this past March, there is limited coverage of the adverse mental health effects of these unprecedented and formerly unimaginable measures.
According to Alison Malmon, Executive Director of Active Minds, a not-for-profit offering mental health education to young adults, “Many experts believe there’s going to be a second curve, which is the mental health impact of COVID. And schools have a responsibility to be responsive to their students’ mental health.”
In an eye-opening survey of some 50,0000 college students by the American College Health Association, over 50 percent more students were seeking mental health services compared to last year. And some 90 percent of college students surveyed said the coronavirus had increased “stress and anxiety” in their lives.
Catherine Grus, Chief Education Officer at the American Psychological Association, responded to stress levels reported by college students returning to campuses. Ms. Grus stated, “They’re seeing higher levels of depression, they’re having financial insecurity, which is also leading to mental health problems. And this is concerning because, before the pandemic, we knew that college students were increasingly having mental health concerns. So, now you add the pandemic and we have a population that’s particularly in greater need for mental health services.”
TREND FORECAST: Beyond college students, the rise in mental health issues caused by the lockdown mandates, such as financial pressures and the damage of social isolation, are inflicting more mental and physical damage to college students and general society than the virus itself.
