PANDEMIC DESTRUCTION
MENTAL EFFECTS
The outbreak of the Coronavirus and the effects quarantine has had on us include: increase risk of depression, anxiety, stress, academic depletion, job insecurity, the list goes on. Life “pre-covid” was already stressful for us, especially hard working college students; however, when the pandemic first hit, the life of a college student was flipped upside down.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine
An estimated 26% of Americans 18 and older will suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.
Major depression can develop at any age: however, the average age of onset is the mid-20s.
Approximately 9.5% of American adults 18 and over, will suffer from a depressive illness.
Women are nearly twice as likely to suffer from depression compared to men.
College Students at Texas A&M
In regards to how Covid has taken a toll on college students, a study was conducted at Texas A&M University with over two-thousands participants. Each individual was asked a series of questions in a survey: age, gender, class (undergraduate or graduate student), a health questionnaire, and an anxiety screen were asked for each participant. The results conducted that over 80% of their participants reported levels of depression, with almost 10% being a severe case of depression. Females are more susceptible to depression, stress and anxiety compared to their male counterparts. (Wang et al., 2021)
Why are we Stressing Out?
The biggest contender for the cause of our stress during the pandemic outbreak include academia difficulty rising, the transition of in-person to online, delayed graduation and overall uncertainty of the disease. Studies have shown that listening to music can lower anxiety and help with depressive episodes. According to a study conducted on Covid-19 patients, music therapy and quality of life had positive correlations with each other. (Chen et al., 2021) The CDC has provided great information on what mental health is, how to spot it, and how to combat it.