The Unseen Mental Health Impact of Covid-19

Written by: Lily Caso and Jewelina Bouldin

Mental health is a very serious topic that most people tend to avoid, it’s not talked about as much as it should be. Especially at a time like this, it’s important to inform and educate the people that need to hear it the most.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five Americans is affected by a mental health condition. Although, millions of people in the United States face issues with mental health, they don’t always get the help that they need.

Everybody has stress and anxiety at some point in their lives. As a result, they may show severe symptoms such as forms of depression, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, or one of many mental conditions.

Recently, in Nevada, a surge of student suicides in the Clark County School District, is what drove the district to reopen for in-person learning. The Clark County District decided to reopen as much as possible in February after 18 students committed suicide in the months since the pandemic began.

Like their peers around the country, students and staff at Ironwood Ridge High School have processed the pandemic in a multitude of ways. Makayla Barron, a sophomore at Ironwood Ridge says, “I am honestly not doing good, if there was one thing the school could help make easier for me, is to not give as much homework. The homework is more work combined than if I was in-person right now, it takes a lot of time from my day.”

Barron loves interactions and being around people, she says, “it makes it easier for me to learn. I enjoy to get out of the house, go for a run, or listen to music, so I can get away from looking at screens all day”

Mrs. Moser, the French teacher at Ironwood Ridge, says, “I would say during this time, that I feel pretty fortunate about my mental health. I think all things considered, I have been able to feel pretty positive. Even though this has been going on for almost a year.”

Mrs. Moser feels it has been harder to connect with her students through a computer screen. “But, I like being online because it’s very eco friendly. I haven’t had to print anything since March and that’s great. We’ve all had to adjust to being online for almost a year now, it’s hard to get away from the screens when that’s all we’ve ever known in these past couple of months.”

“I like to go on walks everyday for half an hour. I also like to read and clean my house or just do chores in general as well as cooking.” says Mrs. Moser on her efforts to take time away from computer screens

Mrs. Moser says that during the hard times she enjoys the little things more often, “I would like it if my students told me something they enjoyed about the lesson I planned out for that day, even if it’s a private comment on Google Classroom or they emailed me saying that they liked it. People tend to only email someone if they find something bad instead of something good.”

If you are struggling with a mental illness, reach out to someone, talk to a professional about what’s going on and you can get some help. Just remember many other people in the world have stress, and you are not alone. These times are hard for everyone, and if you’re feeling down, things will get better.

Click HERE if you would like to contact an IRHS Counselor.

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