“I feel much more anxious about my future now. It really feels hopeless for everyone.”
Livia and Julia Morris, ‘What Students Have to Say About the Coronavirus’
The educational and career paths of all students since 2020 have been burdened with the unpredictability of the pandemic. Before the pandemic anxiety and stress were an unfortunate part and parcel of a students’ life. During the pandemic, they have become the dominant contributing factors of poor mental and physical health of students across the world. The quote at the beginning of this article mirrors the feelings of stress, anxiety and loneliness that we as students have felt for the past 21 months.
There have been several studies conducted by psychologists all over the world to observe, analyse and help the situational experience of the students during this difficult time. One such study was led by NBC News and Challenge Success, a non-profit affiliated with the Stanford Graduate School of Education. It revealed the impact of the pandemic on student well-being and academic engagement, with students’ reporting their stress levels are rising and they feel less engaged. This study titled ‘Kids Under Pressure’, included 10,000 students across a range of high schools throughout America in Fall 2020. Key Findings of the study, published on February 15th, 2021, were that students, especially females and students of colour, continued to experience high levels of stress and pressure and students’ engagement with learning, which was always a challenge, was especially low now (Kids Under Pressure: Covid-19’s toll on learning).
As we researched further, the various studies conducted, interviews taken, articles written were fearfully abundant. It was hard to choose from the available literature. No matter how many statistics we provide you with, it will not be an accurate and comprehensive picture of the life of students worldwide during the various lockdown periods. Stress and anxiety increased in the first month of the pandemic itself, as compared to the entirety of 2019. No amount of surveys can qualitatively describe the personal trauma faced by the students of this uncertain time. The factors of stress and anxiety do not stand alone. As major lifestyle changes took over, students had to not only get used to a completely new way of learning and giving examinations but also cope with the threat of a virus. Responsibilities at home piled on as family members had to support each other through the transition into a pandemic life. As the economic situation of countries worsened, at individual levels, many students dropped out of their school or college because they could not afford it anymore or they had to prioritise earning for the family over their education. Students had to switch to a more feasible institution or even rethink their career paths. Since we were confined to our homes, a sedentary way of life was predictable. Obesity rates accelerated during the pandemic. The physical and mental effects of obesity especially for students during their impressionable years is well known. Students thought that remote learning would be accompanied by flexible hours and less load of work, the conditions however had a reverse effect. As students experience their educational phase of life they are bound by the chains of evolving technology. Stress and anxiety have woven themselves around all these situations and many more.
The previous paragraph spoke about situational stress during the lockdown periods. The stress and anxiety is now rising as students begin to go back to college or school. In early 2021, Rosalind Dorlen and 4 other psychologists noticed that many of their patients were experiencing symptoms of anxiety, despite being undiagnosed with the disorder itself. Following an extensive survey, they came to a conclusion that the individuals returning to in-person activities may experience pandemic-related anxiety called Pandemic-Acquired Risk Avoidance (PARA). Now how can we relate this to college students you ask? Dorothy Cantor, a psychologist, who was an author of this study said that students experienced anxiety while being present on the campus even before the pandemic, due to the workload, being away from home or even beginning higher levels of study. This would gradually resolve itself over time. However, PARA is directly connected to the ongoing pandemic hence, it is difficult to determine when it will go away. Aliceana Lin, a Rutgers Business School sophomore, said that a lack of control over her circumstances has caused her to feel anxiety, something she had not experienced much before. She said this anxiety has affected her experience with returning to in-person activities, specifically sports, which she wants to enjoy but the threat of spreading the virus further looms over her. Kristina Tecson, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore said that while she has experienced anxiety before, the pandemic has hosted a new set of challenges that can be overwhelming to take on. She said the college is already a time of growth and maturing for students, but the current state of the world has made it a far more intimidating experience.
Uncertainty accompanies students as they go back to the same routine before 2020. Some are anxious about socializing and maintaining relationships, while others stress about how different it will feel to be physically present in class to learn and sit for examinations. As we know there is always a silver lining present. A survey by BML Munjal University (BMU), a Hero Group initiative, which included responses of over 600 students across high school, undergraduates and postgraduates showed us the bigger picture that prevails during this stressful period. 78% of students surveyed are feeling more hopeful about the future than they did when the pandemic began. 37% of young adults said they realised the importance of mental and physical health, 28% said they understood the importance of family, friends and nurturing relationships and 12% said that the pandemic has restored their confidence in the resilience of the human spirit.
Although, a student’s life, since 2020, has been overloaded with social, emotional, physical and academic changes. They have experienced demotivation, tension and grief at higher than normal levels. Students have to be mindful of consuming a healthy diet, physically engaging their body to relieve stress through exercise and prioritising sleep. Relaxation techniques which can be practised every day through deep breathing or yoga can significantly reduce stress. Students can also clearly and effectively communicate with their institutions and teachers to find ways around the feeling of stress regarding their education. If you are a student and symptoms of anxiety are affecting your day to day life you also have the option to acquire professional help. While it is hard to cope with anxiety and stress, due to its common occurrence, there are an array of options out there for support and relief. Talk Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Medication are all the different ways in which you can receive guidance from a Mental Health professional to identify and cope with this stressful situation. We would like to leave you with a hopeful message, that going back to college or school may come with its problems but an important thing to remember is that it is a sign that we are beating the virus. One day we will leave the pandemic behind us and find a less stressful and a more happier, hopeful way into this new world.
– Urveez Kakalia & Ferangiz Hozdar.