Mental Health: Teens

Pandemic has affected the mental health of people from all age groups and economic class. Me being a student would like to use this platform to talk about how the lockdown is taking a toll on students’ mental health.

Everyday begins with the number of deaths and cases due to Covid-19 outbreak. There are students who’s loved ones are either positive for coronavirus or have lost someone owing to the same cause. And instead of the society members to be empathetic and supportive towards these families, they end up creating and being a part of social taboo that this disease has created.

Apart from this the uncertainty of students’ future and questions like- when will the pending board exams occur, when will universities organise entrance tests and release their cut off lists and when will the new academic session begin lead to an endless spiral of thoughts.

Lockdown has also increased the number of children going through anxiety issues and depression. For most, therapy provides a safe, positive, warm and non-judgemental space but with everyone at home it leads to the exact opposite effect.

An 18-year-old friend of mine shared, “There are articles about spending quality time with your family everywhere. But for me, my house feels like hell owing to my father’s constant abuse to my mother and me. It has worsened our relations with each other.”

Another friend said, “I have the offer letter from my dream university but due to the financial crunches at home, rise in the number of cases and the uncertainty of what lies ahead, I will have to take a gap year this time.”

A student who came to 12^th this year vent out, “it’s impossible to study at home. Our school classes go on till 8 in the evening, there’s no fixed time for them. My eyes and back hurt by the end of the day owing to so much screen time. Then I’m also expected to stay at home. This was my last year and I wanted to create memories which’ll be able to cherish for the rest of my life. But here I am, stuck at home and unable to chill or talk to my friends. I miss the days when everything was normal.”

Social media too has become a platform where everyone is sharing pictures of their baked cake, the course they’ve joined in, the music cover they recently uploaded, the room they did a makeover on and their body transformation videos. Not only has this led to a social expectation out of students’ for doing something creative and productive but also led to a low self-esteem, hopelessness and restlessness amongst them.

It is important for parents and other stakeholders to understand the mental situation of children, talk to them about it and ease them out. They also need to be aware as to how to recognize signs of stress. It is vital to monitor that students to rely on credible sources of information only. In the midst of stressful situation it pivotal to take out time for self care practices like- eating well, staying active, meditating, doing enjoyable activities and getting adequate rest.

While everything might seem to get out hands, the only thing we are of control is ourselves.