In the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, people are struggling in many ways. There are the obvious struggles such as getting sick, and being bored, but then there’s the struggle that people don’t like that talk about as much. People usually don’t talk about their mental health because they have worries that people might treat them differently or talk bad about them because they’re feeling different than the “normal.” People also have many different experiences with mental health, and some are far worse than others, but usually no one knows because many people bottle it all up inside themselves.

People’s mental health and personalities change as a result of growing up and living their lives, but when one factors in this huge obstacle that no one expected to happen, it can have major effects on everyone. We were all out living our normal lives, and then the pandemic happened and took away so much from us. People have lost the ability to go out and have fun and to get away from all of the stress that they’re going through. Many people have lost friends just because of the lack of being able to go out and be with them, and many people have lost family members because they got too sick, and it’s heartbreaking.

As a result, The Washington Post says, “Federal surveys show that 40 percent of Americans are now grappling with at least one mental health or drug-related problem. But young adults have been hit harder than any other age group, with 75 percent struggling.”  The rates of suicidal thoughts have increased about 15 percent with young adults in this time, and that is very alarming. 

Alarmed by these statistics, I was curious to see how students at my old school, Eldorado High School in Placerville, my new school, Mendocino High School, and another school in the Placerville area, are coping, and to see if there are any similarities and differences. 

Sergio Gonzalez, a Junior at Independence High school, said that he used to be all happy and excited to get up for school because he got to hang out with his friends and enjoy life, saying “I felt like I didn’t have to worry about anything because I had my friends there for me all the time, but since Covid, things changed.” These sentiments are echoed by Logan Sexton, a Junior at Eldorado High School, who says that Covid is the reason why his mental health has plummeted. He states, “Before Covid my mental health was stable, I was happy, and my mental health was good, but after Covid my mental health wasn’t that great. I got lonely because I couldn’t hang out with people, or do anything.” He adds “I lost so many friends and fun times.”

The absence of friends has had other consequences as well. Sergio adds, “I have no motivation and things are different now because I rarely talk to my friends anymore, because things just aren’t the same.” Many other people feel that way too. Logan Sexton explains, “My energy levels and motivation definitely went down since Covid.” He also stated, “Being away from friends and family made me feel lonely, and it was a huge toll on my mental health.” Blanca, a sophomore at Mendocino High School, also said that her energy levels went down, but her motivation throughout the quarantine stayed the same.

Not being at school also has an effect on people because they feel like they can’t live a normal life anymore. For example Blanca says that since she is doing online school, “there is a lack of social interaction,” and because she is a social person, not being at school has taken a toll on her. But for others it is different because they are back at school.  Logan states “Being back at school has definitely improved my mental health. It made me happy, and I could finally be around people.” 

While there are many disadvantages to Covid, there are also some positives coming out of it. Blanca talked about how she tried to learn new hobbies. Logan talked about how he tried thinking about things that would help him improve himself, and Sergio talked about how he tried to meditate, and how he tried eating better. It’s great that even though we are going through a big obstacle in our lives, people are still trying to make the best of it.

In the end, Covid has changed us and our mental health in many ways, some good, some bad. Things just keep getting harder with the isolation, and people are still struggling. We just need to figure out ways to help us overcome these challenges but still stay safe. Hopefully things will get better for everyone in the end, and we all can get our mental and physical health up.