How College Students Manage Mental Health During COVID-19
Here's How 4 College Students Say They Are Manageing Their Mental Health Amid COVID-19
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Clark told POPSUGAR that she's dealt with mental illness for the majority of her life. "I don't remember a time when I wasn't anxious," she said. "As a child, I would beg my parents not to go to school or do extracurricular activities because the thought of judgement was so anxiety-provoking. The anxiety has never left, and I still have generalised anxiety disorder to this day." She also has depression, OCD, and trichotillomania, a hair-pulling disorder.
Clark had to move back home and said she found that she prefers online learning because she likes doing work at her own pace. The fact that her mom is an essential worker at a hospital in NYC, she said, worsens her anxiety about COVID-19. The pandemic also stirs up grief from when her grandfather passed away three years ago. "Knowing that older populations are at extremely high risk makes me very emotional," she said.
Being home, though, has somewhat stabilized Clark's anxiety at the same time because she feels as though she doesn't have to worry about going to classes. "As someone who is more of an introvert, being alone is preferable," she explained. She's also been focusing on personal and career development. Here are some mental-health-manageing tools she's found useful: