The Lasting Effects the Pandemic had on the Mental Health of Teens

By Macie Drake

It’s a couple of months into the pandemic, a boy, a student at the time, just woke up and it's four in the afternoon. No one else is home and when his family members do arrive it’s already beginning to darken outside.

After they return home and soon fall asleep, the boy loses himself in a video game. He plays all through the night and finally falls asleep at eight in the morning, right before his parents leave for work.

This was the life of a former student of Oregon City High School nearly every day during the pandemic. We will call the boy “John” for the sake of anonymity. 

“I wouldn't see anybody wake up to go to work and by the time I was awake everybody was usually not home, so pretty lonely,” He said.

He wasn’t the only person who felt lonely or struggled with their mental health during the pandemic. To better understand the impact of the pandemic on students at OCHS, a survey was conducted among current students. 

The survey found that over a third, out of the 60 respondents, felt lonely 7 days a week during the pandemic. A third of respondents also said that they were anxious 7 days a week. Only 3 people said that they did not struggle with their mental health at all during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr. Ashley Bauer, mental health and substance use therapist, who works at Base Behavioral Health in Beaverton Oregon, said, “Due to the pandemic a lot of it gets held in and people don’t know how to talk and communicate anymore.”

When did these struggles start and how has the stigma surrounding mental health affected people?

Having no mental health issues before the pandemic “John” said that his mental health struggles started “a couple of months” into the pandemic.

Many others struggled with their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic as well.

There has also been a stigma surrounding mental health in the past and it has affected the way people express their struggles with mental health. 

Some people believe mental illnesses are something that only a person of “weak character” can have, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, as stated in their article on the stigma surrounding mental health. 

Although the stigma surrounding mental health has gotten better, Dr. Bauer believes that it is “definitely” still there.

“More people are talking about it and kind of being more aware of the stigma that exists,” Dr. Bauer stated “..but I definitely still feel like it's impacting your age group.”

Who is struggling right now?

According to Dr. Bauer, all age groups are struggling right now. Recently she has been advising couples, teens, and children as young as five years old. She said that she couldn’t pinpoint which age group was struggling the most.

Although “John” has been doing better more recently, he has still been struggling with his mental health. Many others are still struggling as well.

When ranking the severity of their current mental health struggles, over half of the respondents to the Mental Health Survey answered 7 out of 10 or higher.

Who is struggling the most and what resources are we lacking to help them?

Dr. Bauer believes that the reasons people are struggling are “quite complex”. She thinks that homelessness, the pandemic, and social media have an impact on our mental health.

She also stated that Oregon is lacking resources to help the people who need it. “We don’t have enough therapists and services, resources, for people based on population,” she said.

A survey done by Mental Health America (MHA) found that over 1 out of 10 of the youth in the U.S. are struggling to function right now due to severe depression.

The Mental Health Survey showed that 75% of people do not see a counselor or therapist about their mental health struggles.

“John” said that using counseling services and taking medication, in his case an anti-anxiety medication, have helped him with his mental health struggles.

According to the Mental Health Survey, more than half of respondents don’t have access to mental health medications and about ⅓ believe that it could benefit them if they did have access.

Insurance is “probably the biggest barrier for people receiving services,” Dr. Bauer said.

Over half of the adults in the U.S. that are struggling with their mental health do not receive the treatment they need, according to the MHA survey. 5.5 million adults with mental illness are uninsured and many can not afford to pay out of pocket to receive care.

What can we do to improve our future?

Some people are struggling with their mental health and don’t know what to do to help themselves or others.

Ashley Bauer said, “We are not relating to one another, supporting each other”. She stated, “I guarantee that everybody in your school has some kind of anxiety or depression.“

She believes that if we open up to others and are willing to be vulnerable then others will begin to open up.

“Seeking professional help is one of the best things you could possibly do to help when struggling with mental health,” “John” said. 

Talking openly about your mental health with the people close to you and seeking out the help of a mental health professional, when needed, can help you and the people around you with mental health struggles.

Photo by: Ahmed Zayan, under the Unsplash License