LOSING TOUCH

Losing Touch Students navigate social isolation’s effect on mental health

s America reaches over 1.5 million coronavirus cases, as of May 21, much of the country remains under lockdown, creating an unprecedented recession—one that takes the form of social isolation. Such isolation comes with significant health implications, particularly from a psychological standpoint.

For senior Stephanie Morton, she said her transition to quarantine was particularly rough.

“For me personally, the first few weeks (of quarantine) were probably some of the hardest just trying to adjust to everything,” Morton said. “I wasn’t doing my schoolwork, and I’d spend the day lying in bed. I think all of that combined together was just not healthy for me. I had a job; I worked as an assistant teacher at a place called Sprouts. I assumed that throughout quarantine, I’d be able to keep working and save money—and then they let me go for the time being. That was something that really hurt to take in, and I think that led to me sitting in bed all day and not wanting to go out or do anything.”

According to CHS social worker Mary Reese, it is natural to need an GRACE XU STORY A SMOOTHIE RUN: Senior Stephanie Morton de-stresses by driving while sipping on her Smoothie King drink. Morton said driving helps improve her mental health allowing her to get out of the house. STEPHANIE MORTON SUBMITTED PHOTOS

by the numbers 17% of youth experience a mental health disorder people suffer from a mental disorder in America 43.8 MILLION NAMI SOURCE

adjustment period following the start of a global crisis. She added one’s mental health may be harder to manage now due to the major changes each individual experiences.

“Everyone is impacted in one way or another as we have all undergone a major change in our day-to-day lives. Certain individuals may feel a sense of grief during this time,” Reese said via email. “Others may demonstrate increased anxiety, sadness and fear related to a situation where they feel they have little control.”

While Morton said she dealt with negative thoughts and avoided schoolwork, she began to overcome it as a result of external pushes and becoming more aware of her mindset.

BIKE RIDE: Senior Stephanie Morton stands on her bike before going on a bike ride with her friends. She said riding her bike has been a good way to socially distance with her friends while remaining active.

“I think it came to a point where I knew that I had to change things because I couldn’t spend the rest of however long this is going to take moping around, especially after all my teachers were contacting me and my parents kind of sat me down and were like, ‘You can’t keep living like this,’” Morton said. “That was when I decided to set a routine and set miniature goals every single day. Something that helps me mentally (is being able to acknowledge that) this was the homework that I got done today, or I was able to play guitar. Little achievements like that were something that helped me maintain my mental health.”

Many current high school students are learning new systems of accountability as they no longer have the structured routine of in-person school. Such systems may take on various appearances. For example, while Morton found it helpful to create routines and acknowledge each small accomplishment as a success, junior Uredoojo “Uredo” Agada found it helpful to set up checkpoints.

“I started a bullet journal during quarantine,” Agada said. “(By) being able to have a place where you could put your thoughts and schedule things out and write down the things you need to do, you can see, ‘Okay, here’s what I need to do.’”

In addition to accountability and routine, Reese emphasized the importance of maintaining social contact, especially as humans are naturally social, and said students should continue to reach out. Agada said she felt somewhat disoriented with the lack of daily social interaction that came from school, and learned from this time in quarantine the importance of deliberately reaching out to others.

“There’s so many ways you can try and connect with people still and I find that it’s very comforting. The most important thing is just taking the initiative and realizing that even if somebody hasn’t first reached out to you, that doesn’t mean they don’t want to talk to you,” Agada said. “Being in a social recession, that’s been tough, but it has forced me to be more intentional with realizing that you have to reach out.”

Reese added that while quarantine is taking a toll on many students, many resources are still available as well.

“The counseling department at Carmel High School continues to work remotely until the end of the school year and is happy to provide support to students and their families,” Reese said. “The good news is that should these feelings become overwhelming and difficult to manage, there is a wealth of resources out there that can help.” h

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mental minute

Take a look at some local mental health resources available Key:

Addiction Services

Suicide Services

Online Screening 24-Hour Crisis Line

Support Groups

Employment Services

Aspire Indiana: • offers current Indiana COVID-19 updates and videos with helpful tips on explaining

COVID-19 to children • Contact: 1-877-574-1254

Families First: • offers virtual support groups for those who have domestic violence, anger management issues and/or substance use problems • Contact: 317-634-6341

Indiana Center for the Prevention of Youth Abuse and Suicide: • offers suggestions for activities children can do at home while social distancing • Contact: 317-759-8008

Mental Health America of Indiana: • offers a COVID-19 webinar to discuss the effects COVID-19 has had on mental health and addiction recovery • Contact: 317-638-3501

UMA KANDALLU GRAPHIC

FAMILIES FIRST INDIANA, ASPIRE INDIANA, INDIANA PREVENTION, MENTAL HEALTH OF INDIANA SOURCES

Parent of CHS student overcomes obstacles to serve community during COVID-19 pandemic Healthcare Heroes

ANNA KLAUZ STORY

mid the COVID-19 pandemic, medical professionals across the country are working tirelessly in offices, hospitals and clinics to provide the best care for patients. Some of these people have another challenge they face every day: The looming possibility of bringing the virus into their homes every night after work. Fortunately for junior Averie Miner, whose mother works in the medical field, those fears have been somewhat alleviated.

“Although this is a really tough time for families, we are lucky that my mom was offered an online position where she can stay protected while still doing her job,” Averie said.

Averie’s mom, Dana Brimer, has worked as a gastrointestinal (GI) nurse for the last 16 years, serving members of the community and the IU Health team. The hospital offered Mrs. Brimer this position A

1.8% of the employed population in Indiana are healthcare personnel. This translates to 193,730 citizens.* U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS SOURCE did you know? *This data is from May 2019

working remotely in an effort to protect others and herself during this unknown and challenging time.

“We were told on a Tuesday that we were no longer going to be able to continue doing our GI cases due to COVID-19. We would be closed the following day,” Mrs. Brimer said. “The next day we were given information to call our Resource Command Center for placement during the pandemic. I was placed at the COVID-19 Command Center downtown Indy, providing virtual care to our Team Members and the public.”

Mrs. Brimer’s new online position consists of assessing patients for the disease, placing them in quarantine if deemed necessary and educating patients on the precautionary measures they can take for the prevention of spreading COVID-19.

But unlike Mrs. Brimer, many other healthcare professionals don’t have the option to work from home, and that exposes them to greater risk.

“I was very concerned for my son, who has moderate asthma and so afraid that I would bring the virus home to my family. I was beyond grateful to be placed at the Virtual Hub,” Mrs. Brimer said.

Other nurses in similar positions to Mrs. Brimer continue to

PROTECTIVE POSE: Twins and juniors Averie and Faith Miner pose for a selfie together wearing face masks. Averie said she was happy her mom was working an online job which kept her family safe. She said her family hopes to make the best out of the situation they are in. AVERIE MINER SUBMITTED PHOTO

by the numbers* 39th Indiana’s rank among states for ratio of physicians to patients PURDUE SOURCE Hamilton county’s score out of 1 of access to physicians’ care 0.632 physicians per 100,000

Hoosiers 213 *These are numbers from 2017

h work in-person treating those diagnosed with the virus. Major hospitals across Indiana like Indiana University Health, St. Vincent and Eskenazi Health, as well as smaller hospitals, work around the clock to not only make sure those with the virus are given the best treatment but also keeping their staff’s risk of contraction to a minimum.

“I think the hospitals have done a fabulous job working together and consolidating resources to take care of the sickest COVID-19 patients,” Mrs. Brimer said. “I have seen fellow nurses sicker than sick due to their dedication to these patients that they treat like family.”

Averie said she admired her mother during this time as a nurse treating those who are sick. Both she and Mrs. Brimer said they hope for a fast recovery for the world. They both said they are trying to maintain a positive way of thinking in light of this COVID-19 pandemic. Mrs. Brimer said, “I am so proud to be a nurse at this time.”