Many people struggle with mental health, whether it’s depression, anxiety, PTSD or a plethora of others.
COVID-19 hasn’t helped those who struggle with mental health on top of homework, a job, social life, family and anything else one can think of.
For first-year students, it can be difficult living away from their parents for perhaps the first time and for months at a time before going back home for a few weeks.
Students quarantining or isolating themselves can struggle by not having in-person interaction with their friends, family and the outside world.
The Jed Foundation conducted a 2020 online survey from around 200 college and graduate students across the U.S. about their emotional readiness for the fall 2020 semester.
There were 63% of students who said their emotional health was worse than before COVID-19 and 56% said they were highly concerned with their “ability to care for their mental health.”
The top issues students dealt with were anxiety at 82%, social isolation/loneliness at 68%, depression at 63% followed closely by trouble concentrating at 62% and struggling to find healthy ways to cope with stress at 60%.
Students felt concerned about racial equity with the rallies and protests across the U.S. Around 61% of students felt very concerned about racial unrest and 34% were concerned about this issue in their own communities.
According to the Jed Foundation survey, 30% of students seek counseling, 48% turn to their friends for support and 39% turn to their family for support.
Only a small percentage of students felt their mental health was better now than before the pandemic, which helped them self-reflect and build resilience.
What can be done to help students work through their mental health and bring awareness to it?
Around 70% of students who participated in the survey said they would use telemental health services if their school provided access to them. Students were also interested in regular check-ins and support groups with school administrators.
The University of Idaho campus provides support for students struggling with their mental health.
The Counseling and Testing Center staff offer a variety of resources, counseling services and referrals and their sessions are free.
UI hosts many Mindfulness Drop-In sessions. Therapy dogs arrive on campus for students to pet and give love to, to relax and relieve stress. Vandals for Recovery offers a safe space for students to drink coffee and talk about their struggles every Tuesday.
Teachers and other faculty members understand that students struggle and take mental health seriously. They try to help accommodate students as best they can with their classes and workload.
In downtown Moscow, the Latah Recovery Center is located on Main Street. They’re open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. This center offers many classes and has many groups students can join.
Times are tough for everyone but do not struggle alone. Find a center close by or a network of people that are trustworthy to help work through mental health.
Kim Stager can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @journalismgoals