Pandemic effect: Psychological distress in kids

Rithu Dravid | NT

Bengaluru

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of school and college students, not just in terms of learning deficits and syllabus backlogs, but it has also taken a heavy toll on their mental and emotional well-being

Over the last two years, they had to go through lockdowns and school closures that have resulted in students experiencing loneliness, anxiety, low self-esteem, and uncertainty. The opening of schools has brought in its own challenges such as getting acclimatised to the routine of offline classes, assignments, exams, and unit tests; and interacting with classmates. This is more acute among smaller children who got admitted to kindergarten classes during the pandemic but are seeing the insides of a classroom only now

Teachers and academic counsellors claim there has been an increasing trend of students reporting psychological distress and symptoms of depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress. Extreme depression and suicidal thoughts have become more widespread among the school and college students

“There is no health, without mental health and it needs to be put on our agenda now more than ever. Creating safe spaces for children to talk creates emotional regulation and mental strength in them, which can be included in the curriculum through experiential learning. These essential components can be promoted and acknowledged through talk therapy,” says Shaninda, educational counsellor, St Joseph’s Boys High School, Bengaluru

This will require a scaling up of existing mental health support systems in the education institutions, parental support, and awareness strategies to support young people.

Adequate support and timely intervention, especially among students experiencing mental distress, may help them bounce back in the post-pandemic world

“Depression is definitely a collective crisis and builds up over a period of time. Adapting to the highly demanding changing lifestyles over two years has created tremendous pressure on this generation,” says Lydia, a student counsellor in the city

However, mental health experts feel there is no one-size-fits-all remedy and it varies according to age group. They claim it is important to raise awareness about the pandemic and its effects on the physical and mental health of smaller children. The anxiety that adults exhibit will have an impact on the children as they become fearful

Dr K John Vijaysagar, Professor and Head, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, NIMHANS, Bengaluru said most children were affected by social and experiential deprivation which was an important risk factor. The unpreparedness of students going back to schools and colleges has led to increased anxiety among them. He said, “For most children and adolescents being made to stay at home has increased the risk of family stress and abuse, which are risk factors for mental health problems. Multiple factors have affected the children pre- and post-pandemic. Academic stress, interpersonal relationships within the family, and difficulty in peer relationships particularly in adolescents have had an adverse effects.

Contemporary challenges like addiction to gadgets, social media, financial instability in families, and fear of attending offline exams are all contributing factors that have driven students to be extremely stressed out and anxious,” he said.

Therefore, the fear of underperforming, failure, and mounting academic pressure are factors that have led to post-pandemic stress and anxiety in students. The children may have difficulty in concentrating at first or may need more time to get back into the routine of offline learning. Providing opportunities for children to take breaks, move around, and re-connect with their friends and peers will help ease the stress