The Effect of the Pandemic On Our Mental Health

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As the COVID-19 pandemic goes onto its second year, it has negatively affected many people’s daily lives, especially their mental health. The widespread impact of COVID-19 has caused millions of deaths, the economic recession, and imposed new limitations on social interaction. Throughout the first year of the pandemic, many students have transitioned from in-person schooling to remote learning due to lockdown restrictions and safety protocols. Research has shown that remote learning can be as good or even better than in-person schooling for students who choose to do so. However, millions of students have argued that virtual learning is a lot more difficult and say that teachers may even be assigned more homework than they would during in-person schooling. Schools have taken the necessary precautions to help students feel more comfortable, but some students feel more overwhelmed, due to the new imposition of virtual learning. Seeing the tragic news on television makes students feel stressed about their surrounding environment. There are many factors that influence a student’s mental health, including school and their home environment just to name a few. More mental health issues have arisen in students, including disorders like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

However, students aren’t the only ones to experience an increase in mental stress during the pandemic. Adults have also be affected, whether it be about their economic status, job security, tend to relatives, and many more. A KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) study taken over the course of the pandemic reports that about 4 in 10 adults in the United States have reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, which have increased from the previous 1 in 10 adults who reported these symptoms from January to June 2019. People all over the world have lost a loved one or lived through isolation, and this may worsen underlying mental health issues.

Additionally, the employment rate had skyrocketed on a global scale. A Bureau of Labor Statistics report states that “of the 16.9 million people unemployed in July, 9.6 million were unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic.” Overall, a shocking 57% of unemployed adults were unable to work because of their employer closing or due to economic shortage.

Throughout the course of the pandemic, many people globally have been impacted in various ways, which may have ended up hurting their mental health. Both adults and students have reported an increase in stress and a decrease in mental health due to various factors. More recently, vaccinations have gone up, and infections and deaths are down in several areas around the world. As life returns to normal in our post-pandemic stage, experts warn that there may be a PTSD-like effect for some people.

Works Cited

“Effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12 Apr. 2021, www.bls.gov/cps/effects-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.htm.

Oguntoyinbo, Lekan. “The Pandemic Has Taken a Serious Toll on Mental Health. What Happens When It's Over?” Healthline, Healthline, 15 Apr. 2021, www.healthline.com/health-news/the-pandemic-has-taken-a-serious-toll-on-mental-health-what-happens-when-its-over.

Panchal, Nirmita, et al. “The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use.” KFF, Kaiser Family Foundation, 10 Feb. 2021, www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/.