Mental Health in Students Throughout COVID

A two-week break from school! Make sure to bring all your items home with you, the sentence that started it all. All the students were ecstatic; two weeks off from life, what a blessing. As the whole world knows now, these two weeks were only just the start.
For some students the COVID-19 virus was a blessing at first. People got to take a break from their busy schedules and had some time to relax. However, as two weeks turned into months and months turned into years, it has dramatically impacted everyone but especially students’ mental health.
Online School impacted everyone, parents, teachers, and most of all students. One Silver Creek High School senior, Sashiana Amsbaugh-Murrieta reported, that online learning was “isolating and lonely.” No one likes being stuck in their house for days on end, without the promise of light at the end of the tunnel.
The freshman at Silver Creek seem to have a similar experience. Eden Routledge says, “I was really antisocial and didn’t talk to many people.” Not having daily interaction with peers is a fast tract to having bad mental health. These factors are reasons why students struggled throughout online learning.
School is a place where you get to interact with various people and be social. However, many students had a hard time adjusting back to being in person. Routledge writes, “I used to have social anxiety when coming back to school. But now, after being at school, it has gone back to normal.” This interview was taken about two months after school started, the first month back was mentally challenging for some students.
Silver Creek’s program Sources of Strength, which has the primary goal to help the students manage and navigate through High School and mental issues. The 8 main principles are mental health, Family support, positive friends, mentors, healthy activities, generosity, spirituality, and physical health. Amsbaugh-Murrieta is a part of the group and she says, “Sources of Strength is nice because we have meetings, and everyone would share.” Learning that other peers might be going through similar things can teach you that you are not as alone as you think.
Although Sources of Strength is a good resource for students, many freshmen don’t know about it. When Routledge was asked if she ever used sources of strength, she replied, “What is that?” With more awareness about the group, more students could receive help and support.
If you ever find yourself in a bad headspace, or need some extra support, sources of strength could help you. The club meets on wednesday during both A and B lunches, in the college career center. In the meeting you will talk about campaign ideas and ways to spread the message throughout the school. You also will meet in a circle and just listen, or talk about issues in your life.
COVID-19 has affected High school students’ mental health drastically across the country. Although students have pushed through obstacle after obstacle, some still may need extra help. Silver Creek’s Sources of Strength offers a great program to help students during this difficult time.