By Melanie Artrip and Chasey Almirol
Reese Phillips drove home one afternoon in March 2020 with a trunk full of belongings and a crooked smile of uncertainty. With American University in the rearview mirror, and classes moved online because of the pandemic, he was forced to move back home for his own safety. Attempting to push away anxiety, he told himself he would simply have to readjust to his new circumstances.
Phillips is a rising senior at American University who spent his junior year learning virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, his mental health deteriorated.
“The hardest part was spring 2021 after doing online school for a year. Mental health was low then because I was tired,” Phillips said.
The mental strain that he experienced from attempting to excel academically combined with the anxiety of the unknown led him to a darker place. And Phillips was not alone.
Multiple American University students interviewed for this story reported a decrease in their mental health due to the pandemic. All students interviewed most commonly reported an increase in anxiety.
Rising junior Ben Johanson reported an increase in his anxiety regarding the future after the pandemic. Nearing his last two years at AU, Johanson wonders what jobs are going to look like when he graduates and how he can prepare for that.
“It’s definitely caused a lot of anxiety for what’s to come next, “ Johanson said. “Sophomore year is all in mind. Missing out on a whole year of school and how that’s going to affect me long term.”
A fear of the unknown is all too common, especially fueled by the pandemic. A study of 195 undergraduate students was conducted at Texas A&M as researchers looked into the impact of the pandemic on student’s mental health. Researchers discovered that 71% of students reported increased anxiety due to COVID-19. Researchers also uncovered multiple stressors that added to the anxiety, such as fear about their health or their loved ones’ health (91%), difficulty concentrating (89%), decreased social interactions (86%) and academic performance concern (82%).
Chloe Bohn, a rising junior at AU, struggled with mental illness prior to covid, but still had a difficult time managing. Bohn’s coping mechanism was filling up her schedule. Bohn learned to keep herself busy but had a hard time doing so when her productivity was down. AU’s Counseling Center specifically assisted students like Bohn by helping them to develop similar positive coping skills.
AU’s Counseling Center provided services through telehealth during the pandemic, which helped many students. “There is a lot of research regarding teletherapy’s efficacy and effectiveness which made it the right option for services during the pandemic while students engaged in virtual/remote learning,” Daniel Birichi, assistant director for outreach and consultation of AU’s Counseling Center, said. Telehealth is seen to be the future of therapy, according to a 2017 study by scientists from Iran University, and AU has taken the steps to use the program to its advantage.
Despite the pandemic, AU continues to acknowledge mental health and has made an effort to assist their students through programs such as group therapy and 6-8 free sessions. “If we work to put in place healthy community conditions, good healthcare coverage, and inclusive policies, we can improve mental health and well-being,” Benjamin F. Miller, chief strategy officer at Well Being Trust, a mental and spiritual health organization, said.
Therapy sessions and coping strategies have helped support Phillips. He plans to attend classes full time at AU this fall, and will use the mental challenges he has overcome to guide his future endeavors.
“My mental help was challenged in a lot of different ways,” Phillip said. “I learned that I can be resilient with my mental health.”