Mental Health during the Pandemic

Some expert insight and advice on how to help young people cope in these challenging times

One thing we have learned over the past year is that COVID has brought to the surface, or heightened for many of us, mental health issues,

unfortunately. The CDC reports in a June 2020 survey that 31% of adult respondents reported symptoms of anxiety and depression, and 26% reported stress-related symptoms (all of these rates are nearly double compared to the pre-pandemic statistics).

When it comes to how people have been handling these mental health struggles, Julie Morrison P’26, ’29, licensed psychologist and owner of her own practice here in Albany (HPA/LiveWell) and an Albany Academy parent, says that “People did the best they could to cope with this unusual stress” but that “many adults, adolescents, and children, used maladaptive coping skills to tolerate distress. Those maladaptive behaviors have led to the development of unhealthy behaviors that now require treatment.”

What are we supposed to do then? It surely is easy to fall back into old unhealthy patterns when the symptoms of their mental illness start to rear their ugly heads, louder and more persistent than ever. But all hope isn’t lost; Julie says that “distraction [and] using creative ways of connecting with others” are great coping mechanisms. “But,” she states, “the biggest thing is finding routine and schedule. Everyone needs routine and activating behavior. Activating behavior helps fight depression and helps people feel like they have purpose.”

Even small activating actions, like brushing your teeth, making a snack, going for a drive, or simply moving from your bed to the couch, are all accomplishments that can spur bigger ones despite the big heavy voices in your head telling you otherwise.

Julie describes COVID, in terms of mental health, as being “the great equalizer” in how it destigmatized conversations around mental health struggles. The pandemic gave a more tangible grappling hook to attach to our fears, struggles, and anxieties to pull us into broader discussions about mental illness.

That leads into how do we work towards ending stigma around mental health and mental illnesses? Well, according to Julie, “Simply talking to people in your life about how you feel, checking in on them about how they are doing, sends the message that talking about coping and wellness is a normal thing. The more we share how we cope, the more we show that the NEED to cope is normal.”

Essentially, the normalization of discussing your mental well-being is how we begin to end the cyclical nature of mental health stigma.

Generally speaking, the pandemic has forced us into finding alternative ways to socialize and simultaneously proved human connections can be made beyond physical contact, yet how that one really cannot be replaced by the other. The Albany Academies are no different in how we handled the pandemic creatively. Mental health counselor Powell Cucchiella says, “The counselors looked to create more resources that could be utilized by teachers and advisors, rather than just us delivering that information. Zoom became a nice option to connect with people when we’re forced apart or couldn’t be in the school.”

“The biggest predictor of someone’s well-being is how connected and close they feel to the people around them.”

POWELL CUCCHIELLA

On The Albany Academies’ front, Powell says, “I did the best I could last year [by] trying to understand who could use mental health support. That made for quite a challenge. It is usually easy when children and teens are in school to see that they are not doing well and need support, but kids at home present differently and it was hard to really know how people were doing.”

Powell implores that mental health care from an early age is “not just important, it’s critical.” And he finds it “unsettling... when social, emotional, and mental health is seen as a side note or luxury to education. These skills are critical to one’s sense of success in work and relationships all throughout life.”

And he is correct, this view of mental health is unsettling and it only contributes to the stigma surrounding it. Some may view you as “weak” or not able to handle your own problems on your own if you attend therapy, but why should you have to face your problems alone? It’s not necessary and only enforces the idea that you’re less strong when you ask for help, when it is quite the opposite. It requires a lot of strength to admit you’re struggling, or simply need someone to talk to.

But there are barriers beyond stigma that hinder people from seeking mental health access.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the pandemic “has not affected all Americans equally,” stating that “the most vulnerable among us are also feeling the mental health effects most intensely.” Those include minority communities, who are disproportionately affected by the issues caused by the pandemic such as loss of income, housing uncertainty, and food instability. In fact, though general suicide rates in America have remained relatively steady, reports from Maryland and Connecticut point to the fact that “early in the pandemic, the number of African Americans dying by suicide increased.”

Being aware of that reality and the privilege some of us experience is essential to understanding how the system and the government do not work the same for all of us. Awareness and not ignoring these ugly statistics is the first step. Systematically enforced inaccessibility is a huge barrier to seeking mental health help, and it is essential to talk about when discussing mental health care in America. Inaccessibility to mental health services and minority status are intrinsically intertwined and it is unwise to view them as separate.

JULIE MORRISON TITLE?

“Everyone needs routine and activating behavior. Activating behavior helps fight depression and helps people feel like they have purpose.”

JULIE MORRISON P’26, ’29

The Albany Academies, however, provide a place for all students to seek the help they need. And while it is important to be aware of the unsettling statistics, I think it is also important to remember there is hope; hope and awareness can coexist.

We asked Julie and Powell what made their jobs in the mental health field rewarding to them, and both of their answers epitomize hope.

Powell says, “Feeling like I am helpful to others is 100% why I love this career. To know that I could have the ability to impact someone’s life for the better is such a gift.”

And with the same amount of optimism Julie adds, “I love watching people make change. Human resilience is incredible.” You are more resilient than you think and incredibly brave in your vulnerability. Don’t forget that.