Students’ Mental Health Versus COVID Regulations

After a year of regulations for COVID 19 being set into place, everyone has felt the impact that quarantine and isolation have taken on their mental health. 

For students, the stressors that cause this drop in mental health can be a number of things, from the lack of socialization that they would normally be exposed to during class, to spending countless hours a day staring at their laptops attempting to complete school work. 

Regardless of the cause, the influence that COVID has had on students’ mental health has also caused a negative repercussion onto students’ school work. Second-year, University of New Brunswick student Abigail Johnson, for example, says that she has found it extremely hard to find the motivation to complete her school work. 

“Last semester, I had a lot of issues actually finishing up my courses and completing my work. The first couple months were okay, but then after that, it slowly kind of fizzled out, and then I couldn’t find the motivation to get back up and do it again,” said Johnson. 

 

According to UNB Saint John Director of Student Services Sheldon MacLeod, this testimony is far from uncommon. 

“You know part of where we are wired to as people, and particularly students of that age, is, we’re wired for community; we’re wired to connect with each other. That has such a positive effect on our mental health. So the absence of that’s been really challenging for students… You know I think everybody adjusted to that, but at the same time there’s no community building,” said MacLeod. 

 

One challenge with the remote learning system, as said by MacLeod, is that students are no longer encouraged to interact with one another. Between online classes and social media, loneliness and a feeling of complete isolation have been extremely prevalent this past year. 

“I think one of the things that we have been encouraging students is, don’t increase your isolation because it’s really easy if you’re already isolated and lonely to kind of have a lot of time on social media, but you’re really not connecting with anybody,” said MacLeod.

A COVID-Friendly way to get the interaction is through video calls and phone calls with friends and family. Another resource includes online counselling. A service, which according to MacLeod, has seen an increase in demand. 

“I think they would definitely say that [the counselling services have] seen a rise in demand, which is good because students are reaching out and I think that’s such a positive thing that can often be overlooked. I think we’re all a little concerned with the students who aren’t reaching out or who were there by themselves, but the services are actually being used,” said MacLeod. 

Students are able access and book both group and individual counselling sessions online through their university’s website. Although an extremely valuable resource, counselling isn’t the only way to help boost one’s mental health. Various aspects of a person’s life can reflect onto their mentality; this ranges from social life to physical wellbeing, and it is important to pay attention to each of them.

“It sounds kind of funny, but getting your rest, making sure you’re getting good sleep and making sure you’re eating and making sure you’re staying hydrated [are simple ways to help your mental health]. One of the big things we’ve been recommending to students that we get outside…Something you burn off energy but also just to kind of connect with nature,” said MacLeod. 

This past year has been a rough one for everyone, but practicing these simple, but effective habits, and remembering to take time to breathe is a good way to help maintain positive mental health and take care of yourself.