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The Mental Crisis of Covid-19

Nicole Figulski

University of Central Florida

Introduction

With a blink of an eye the world turned upside down, and life as we know it changed

forever. In March of 2020, the Covid-19 Virus started to seriously impact the United States.

Stores shut down, schools closed, colleges sent students back home, and the world was put on

lockdown. High school seniors watched their final days fade away, and college students had to

leave the life they had behind to move back home. All students had to adjust to a completely

different schooling format, while dealing with the stress of the pandemic. Seniors missed out of

high school experiences such as prom and graduation. Finals and Advanced Placement Tests had

to be taken in a completely different format. It was a time of high emotions, where many feared

the virus and were sad over what they had lost. All lost their daily routine, but many lost family

members and friends to the virus. Overall, there was a significant amount of negativity

surrounding the pandemic.

In March of 2020 I was a senior in high school. I was in the last couple months of my

high school career and sign-up sheets for senior events were being passed around. My final day I

picked up my cap and gown that I was anxiously looking forward to wearing on May 24th. The

past three years I had seen seniors pick up their cap and gowns during lunch period and finally it

was my turn. Little did I know that on May 24th I would be sitting in my living room. On April

9th I turned 18 in my bedroom alone while my parents went to work. All my classmates hoped

that it was just a two week break and we would be back. Until that two-week break turned into a

month, and at the end of that month we got an email stating that classes would be remote for the

rest of the semester. I watched as classmates posted them crying over the news, and the whole

world was giving support to the class of 2020, the class who seemingly lost their senior year. I

have a connection to this topic because of the way it impacted me and those around me.
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Everyone has a Covid-19 story, and the point of this paper is to give light to the stories of

students who were impacted by this pandemic. The purpose of this study is to determine the

impacts Covid-19 had on the mental state of students. Due to the significant changes the

pandemic brought to the lives of students, I believe that the pandemic had negative impacts on

the mental state of students.

Student’s Feelings Towards Covid

There were mixed feelings regarding schooling during the beginning of the pandemic. All

students had to abruptly adjust to a new format, which for some was extremely difficult. In a

study done by Halim Güner (2021) of Mus Alparslan University in Turkey, many students

reported feeling anxious over uncertainty about the new schooling format. Many students had

never done online learning before, and we worried about how it would impact their education.

One student reported, “I can say that it was one of the terrible memories I will never forget in my

life. When I learned the university would not open and it would be online, I was worried and

terrified” and went on to say, “The lessons started remotely and I tried to learn and manage

problems on my own, but I just couldn't. I even cried” (Güner, 2021, 151). Students may have

been familiar with cellphone technology, but the same cannot be said for the technology used for

online learning. In a study done by Khusni Syauqi (2020) from the Department of Technology

and Vocational Education at Yogyakarta State University in Indonesia, students felt that online

learning was less effective (Syauqi, 2020, 885). However, in this same study students had no

significant difficulties with e-learning. While the online learning format may have not been

difficult, the fact that it was unfamiliar alone was enough to cause stress and anxiety in students.

Students also had a wide variety of feelings towards the virus and how it impacted their

lives. Many students expressed anger towards the situation: “There has been an overreaction to
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this virus” and “frustration and fury I feel toward other Americans who are…petulant, ignorant

and yet massively arrogant…” (Munsell, 2020, 106). Other students were not sure how to feel:

“Honestly it still doesn’t seem real…some days I forget that the world is shut down and others

it’s all I can think about” (Munsell, 2020, 106). Authors of “Coping with COVID” report that

many students had negative experiences with Covid. As stated in the article, many students

demonstrated coping strategies that were “less emotionally healthy”, such as blaming the

pandemic on China, and displacing their anger towards the country as a whole (Munsell, 2020,

106). Students reported feeling stress from “Americans who are…petulant, ignorant, and yet

massively arrogant”, however on the other side of things, some students reported feeling that the

pandemic was being blown out of proportion (Munsell, 2020, 106). The latter demonstrates

denial over the pandemic itself.

Mental Health

I will be specifically looking at how anxiety, depression, and motivation levels have

changed, if at all. For the purpose of this article, “anxiety” is defined as intense and excessive

worry and fear; “depression” will be defined as an overall negative feeling that impacts everyday

life, including a loss of interest in regular activities and a lack of energy; and “motivation” will

be defined as the desire to do activities. The pandemic caused these mental states to worsen.

First, I want to establish a baseline for mental health in students, not regarding the

pandemic. According to Sara B. Oswalt (2020) in the article “Trends in College Students’

Mental Health Diagnoses and Utilization of Services”, mental health (MH) issues are common in

college students. She states that “one-third of undergraduates exhibit significant symptoms of a

MH problem such as depression, generalized anxiety disorder, or suicidality” (Oswalt, 2020, 41).

She also says that the two most common mental health issues among college students are
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depression and anxiety disorder. Anxiety has been the most common, affecting 38% to 55% of

students (Oswalt, 2020, 42). The study done had the purpose of seeing if diagnoses and

treatment, as well as help-seeking behavior in college students had changed over the period

between 2009 and 2015. Their findings showed that diagnoses and treatment for several mental

health conditions, with anxiety and depression being the highest (Oswalt, 2020, 45). This study

was also consistent with other findings relating to depression and anxiety in this age group.

With this in mind, it is expected that when a major stress factor, such as Covid-19, is

added, depression and anxiety rates in students would rise. According to Rosario Mireya Romero

Parra (2020) in her study “Depression and Meaning of Life in University Students in Times of

Pandemic”, depression rates were higher in university students in Peru and Venezuela during the

pandemic, compared to scores from 2019. (Romero, 2020, 236). These students had a significant

high correlation between depression and meaning of life. There was a negative correlation, so

when the students reported higher depression levels, their reported meaning of life levels were

lower (Romero, 2020, 236). In the article “Coping with COVID”, the researchers found many

negative comments from students such as, “I have felt very unmotivated” and “I have no

motivation anymore” as well as comments about anxiety levels increasing since the pandemic

began (Munsell, 2020, 106). Similarly, in the Güner (2021) study, students expressed initial

shock and anxiety when told they would have to do online learning for their first semester in

college. When asked to explain this emotion “the word Sadness was written 43 times, the word

Anxiety 29 times, the word Bitterness 22 times, the word Confused 11 times, and the word Panic

10 times by the participant students” (Güner, 2021, 151). Overall, the students in that particular

study felt sadness, anxiety, and bitterness towards their schooling situation. Similarly, in the

article “Coping with COVID”, some students expressed feeling as if the pandemic weren’t even
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real, another sign of denial. Other students showed signs of depression, reporting “pieces of my

identity were stripped away” and “I feel like my life has been ripped away from me” (Munsell,

2020, 106). In addition, many reported feeling helpless and a loss of motivation. Results of the

TIPI in this study showed a lessening of follow-through and the ability to complete tasks. This

was displayed by comments such as “I have felt very unmotivated” and “I couldn’t do anything I

couldn’t relax” (Munsell, 2020, 106). Students displayed a lack of motivation as well as loss of

agency. These mental impacts are due to multiple environmental changes students had to endure.

Environmental Changes for Students

The first big environmental change for students was education. The pandemic forced

students to swiftly transition from regular in-person learning to some form of online learning.

Some teachers chose to do lectures through Zoom, while others simply stopped lectures and just

gave online assignments. In the study done by Khusni Syauqi (2020), students reported feeling

that their experiences with online learning did not have an effect on increasing their knowledge

(Syauqi, 2020, 884). In other words, the students felt that in-person schooling was more effective

for their learning. Other students reported feeling anxiety about online schooling and how it

would impact their future. In the study conducted by Halim Güner (2021), one student stated,

“Of course I am worried about education. I want to get a quality education like everyone else.

Face-to-face training is absolutely indisputable, and should be started as soon as possible”

(Güner, 2021, 154). Another student felt worried that “inefficient distance education” would

impact the students once they enter the business world (Güner, 2021, 154). This student felt

anxious that if they do not receive the proper in person education now, that in the future they will

be underprepared to work at their job. This study found that students felt anxiety about their

future because of the quick nature the change to online learning had, and their unfamiliarity with
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the online learning format. “85.8% of the students stated they had a concern for the future and

for would being incompetent in their future professions because of the inefficiency and

ineffectiveness of the distance education lessons” (Güner, 2021, 154).

With the educational change came a social change as well. When Covid hit, schools were

closed and colleges sent most, if not all, students home. This created a drastic social change for

students. High school students no longer saw their peers in school, and college students no

longer had the campus life they were used to. They had to move away from their roommates, and

the friends they had made. All types of students were confined to life at home. For some this was

great, but not for all. Students missed out on many events, such as graduation or prom. For

students who were headed to college for the first time, most lost the opportunity to meet new

friends. One student stated she “was shocked by not being able to enter the university campus,

not meeting new friends, not having a new social life” (Güner, 2021, 151). Many expressed

bitterness towards missing these opportunities for a reason that was out of their control.

Finally, many students also had to deal with a financial change. Students who had jobs

before the pandemic either lost their jobs, were forced to quit, or had to face the stress of

working in a pandemic. For those who lost or left their jobs, they suddenly had to adapt to having

no income. This adds an additional stress factor to an already difficult time. Students also had to

move back home, and potentially live with families who had also lost their jobs. In an article by

Sala Uddin Ahmmed (2020) from the Department of Economics at Hamdard University

Bangladesh, it is stated that financial uncertainty due to the pandemic had a significant

association with anxiety, stress, and depression symptoms (Ahmmed, 2020, 70). In addition to

this, participants who were considered poor were more likely to be severely anxious (Ahmmed,
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2020, 71). Overall, financial pressure from low income due to the pandemic was an anxiety

factor in students.

The Devastating Impacts of Covid-19

When faced with a pandemic that completely changed their way of living, it is expected

that students would have a deterioration of their mental health. The emotional and environmental

impacts of Covid-19 influenced the anxiety, depression, and motivation levels of students. The

shock of having to abruptly move to learning online combined with the stress of the unfamiliar

format led to anxiety, bitterness, and sadness in students new to college. They were upset about

lacking a social life as they transition to college, and were anxious that not learning in person

would impact their future in the business world. Many students were also angry at the situation

they were stuck in, and bitter that the pandemic and its effects were out of their control.

When dealing with these changes and emotions students used a variety of coping

mechanisms. In “Coping with COVID”, students reported self-distraction as their highest used

coping strategy. There were many positive reactions such as “finding positive solutions and

focusing on what is important is what is sustaining myself plus my family” and “[the pandemic]

is forcing us all to pause and refocus, which is a very good thing” (Munsell, 2020, 105).

However, there were a wide variety of negative comments as well. Many expressed anger and

put blame on China and other Americans and one student stated, “I might be suffering from IBS

due to monitoring what I eat” (Munsell, 2020, 106). Another student had a combination of

positive and negative coping strategies; “my sleep has suffered, I’ve started drinking way more,

and I’ve started smoking again when I had quit completely for a year and a half; however, I’ve

been journaling/writing way more often” (Munsell, 2020, 106). The coping mechanisms
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displayed by participants reflected their feeling towards the virus. Many showed tendencies of

denial, anxiety, and depression.

When reviewing the literature, it is clear that there was a significant negative impact on

mental health in students when the pandemic hit. While some students had positive reactions to

the pandemic, the environmental factors paired with the already concerning mental health issues

in students led to an overwhelmingly negative reaction to the Covid-19 virus. Students reported

feelings of anxiety, depression, a lack of motivation, and shock regarding the pandemic and how

school was conducted. While this literature points to a negative impact on mental health, there is

still more research that needs to be done on how students mental health has changed in 2021 as

schools have reopened. Most research was done at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, so

research needs to be continued to get a full scope of how mental stability has changed over the

course of the pandemic.

References

Ahmmed, S. U., & Maria, A. N. (2020). Graduating into a Pandemic: Exploring the Factors

Influencing the Anxiety Level of the University Finalists. Shanlax International Journal

of Education, 9(1), 68–75.

Güner, H. (2021). Examining of the Emotional Mood about Their Online Education of First-Year

Students Beginning Their University Education with Distance Education Because of

COVID-19. Higher Education Studies, 11(1), 148-159.

Munsell, S. E., O’Malley, L., & Mackey, C. (2020). Coping with COVID. Educational

Research: Theory and Practice, 31(3), 101-109.

Oswalt, S. B., Lederer, A. M., Chestnut-Steich, K., Day, C., Halbritter, A., & Ortiz, D. (2020).

Trends in College Students’ Mental Health Diagnoses and Utilization of Services, 2009

-2015. Journal of American College Health, 68(1), 41–51.

Romero, Parra, R. M. (2020). Depression and Meaning of Life in University Students in Times

of Pandemic. International Journal of Education Psychology, 9(3), 223-242.

Syauqi, K., Munadi, S., & Triyono, M. B. (2020). Students’ Perceptions toward Vocational

Education on Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of

Evaluation and Research in Education, 9(4), 881–886.