Mental makeover

Healthline

Throughout quarantine, many mental health issues have risen in people due to the spike in isolation. When a person is isolated from everyone, they tend to overthink or fixate on certain issues. The majority of the issues correlating with isolation are internal, that could mean focusing on personal flaws, mood dysphoria, and mental tricks.

Local therapist Jannan Holmes says that due to this pandemic she is seeing a spike in anxiety among her clients. However, Holmes also says that she has ”seen that some clients with anxiety have done well during quarantine because they feel safe at home.”

School psychologist Jodi Longwell said, “The current quarantine is impacting students’ ability to cope with daily activities and typical setbacks during this unprecedented time. Many students are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and even depressed due to social isolation, new learning expectations, and the general sense of the unknown.”

These professionals have seen many students and young adults go through huge mental changes throughout this pandemic, and many young people are still denying themselves the help they desperately need. Many young adults don’t know how to watch for signs that they might need mental/professional help. A few small red flags you can watch out for are having difficulty in everyday life or ordinary tasks, mood swings, overly heightened anxiety, and a major red flag is suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self-harm.

On the other hand, sophomore Madeline Crabtree commented on how the quarantine has positively affected her mental health: “I’m an inverted person so I tend to thrive being alone and I find I don’t have to deal with a lot of the defining parts in my life that make my mental health decline. Besides the miss

Healthline

ing of friends and the piles of work I have to do, it has honestly helped my mental health. I would say it’s now at a borderline healthy stage.”

Even though some people have used this time of isolation as a period of mental growth, many have taken it quite hard. For instance, senior Abigail Tucker said, ” Quarantine was definitely a little rough on my mental health because it was difficult not being able to see my friends or do anything outside of the house. I think it did let me catch up on a lot of other things in life. It was still a tough time mentally.”

If you are someone who is having a hard time, mental health professionals can help you with ways to cope. For example, Longwell said,” Some things students can do to take care of themselves include practicing mindfulness or visualization, taking time to do things they enjoy (e.g., reading, painting), staying active, getting enough sleep (that means putting the screens down prior to bed), connecting with others (e.g., Facetime or call friends), and trying to limit time on social media.”

Another coping mechanism Holmes provided was “getting outside is important. Focusing on what you are grateful for (a gratefulness journal) is helpful. Exercise, eating healthy foods, getting good sleep, and keeping a routine is also helpful.” In conclusion, people need to be more aware of how isolation and pandemics can affect a person’s mental health. It is a very hard and traumatic time we are going through, and everyone needs to understand that it is ok to ask for help. It is also important to take the time to educate yourself on mental health and mentally check in on yourself every once in a while.