Mental Health Of Students – A Prime Concern Amidst Pandemic

Mental health in itself is a severe condition to look into. It affects one’s well-being and everyone else around them. Mental health and mental illness can disrupt a person’s routine and relationships with people. As diagnosed by doctors, it is usually connected with physical roots rather than psychological problems.

Mental Health Of Students – A Prime Concern Amidst Pandemic

Children’s mental health can be very challenging for families, especially parents. Elements like stress, depression, anxiety, etc. affect children’s mental health, leading to many severe problems if not diagnosed on time. One study has shown that 1 in every 5 children anguish with mental disorders in the United States of America.

The consequences of the covid pandemic have been overwhelming. The world has witnessed the most horrific pandemic in history. It has primarily affected mental health among people, especially among children. However, some children might have benefited from the challenge; it has been difficult for others. 

The mental health crisis among children has been rising since the beginning of the pandemic. According to the studies conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Children’s Hospital Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 2020, there has been an emergency in child and adolescent mental health.

A U.S surgeon general also declared that the crisis needs due attention in an official announcement on Youth Mental Health issued in December 2020.

The situation has worsened over the months. An associate vice president of the school of mental health at Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center in Long Island, New York, Dr. Vera Feuer said that kids are seen acting younger than their age in schools. Kids are manifesting their emotions through violence and aggression. 

There has been an alarming number of cases of mental health disorders among students in some districts. Students have been reported of doing self-harming, suicidal thoughts, and attempts too.

A survey was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which says that 1 out of 6 children aged between 2 – 8 years have mental, behavioral, or developmental disorders.

Psychologists have been training school teachers in basic emotional and social skills to deal with students and help them cope with stress and anxiety.

Some people are now starting to include topics about mental health in their teaching curriculum to educate children on some mainstream mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, trauma, etc. with the help of professionals to recognize and diagnose any mental disorder at the earliest and seek help.

The Cares Act and American Rescue Act have been helping many schools to appoint professional counselors and social workers to address this problem.

One of the President’s campaigns has promised to help out with the issue by making sure the appropriate actions are being taken at schools across the country regarding the mental health help

Due to the increasing cases of mental health problems, health care facilities are fully booked, and the doctors are unable to treat every single patient with such problems at the scheduled time.

Because of this, parents are left with no choice but to take their children to the emergency department to get their child diagnosed or treated if there is a crisis.

Negligence of such problems can cause a surge in the cases of mental health issues. It has been challenging for teachers to help the students with any problems due to virtual learning.

Schools should provide exceptional services to address such problems and appoint professionals to deal with them. Proper recognition of the problems has to be done to solve the crisis at the earliest.

Otherwise, it might become very challenging to provide appropriate care and support to children and parents who have been suffering from inadequate mental health help.