Eugene He

June 2, 2022

The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, had its opening victims infected in the city of Wuhan, China, in late 2019. It spread violently across the globe, wiping out 6.31 million souls to this date (Coronavirus Death Poll). The sudden pandemic brought the world to its knees. Jobless citizens roamed inside their homes as countries locked down. As a result, agony sprouted into lost minds. Depression and anxiety emerged. While the virus can be devastating to one’s health physically, mental health is a factor often ignored but can too be destructive like the virus. Fear of getting sick and seeing their loved ones dying had clogged the minds of countless from escaping their paranoid thoughts. The United Nations had assigned similar issues to this SDG goal 3, Good Health and Well Being.

AGRISMART INC, June, 20, 2016 Image source: https://agrismartinc.com/blog/sdg-3-good-health-well-being/

When the virus made its first moves, people were like injected with a spell of mixed feelings. Overwhelmed, frustrated, terrified. People did not have a sense of direction. Propaganda, fake news, and carnage were what took over the globe. While all the focus was put into preventing the virus from spreading, mental health had been slowly creeping into the minds of countless. A study by the World Health Organization showed that cases of anxiety and depression had grown rapidly by 25% in the earliest years of the COVID-19 pandemic (“COVID-19 Pandemic”). Though living in your homes may be a cohesive ritual in the eyes of many, but with social life absent from lives, it had been especially devastating to teenagers. Socializing and hangouts with friends are some vital elements that build a teenager. Staying home with little to no information about the outside world had proven to be a torturing task. It had rotted the mental states of many, largely targeting teenagers. Another fact to consider is school closure. According to the UNICEF Office of Research, “More than 39 billion in-school meals have been missed globally since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to school closures.” (“Nutrition Crisis”). Food scarcity had become a new hurdle for students that rely on school meals to overcome. With the grocery stores being cleared and an unstable income, it is making it increasingly more difficult to find a stable source of nutrition while keeping calm. This amount of pressure on parents with lost jobs is translated to stress and anxiety. This can be even more dangerous for kids since they do not get a sense of safety seeing their parents stressed out (Haines). Issues like this were the ones leaving permanent scars and traumatizing the futures of youths.

In response to the careless actions to solve mental health, organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) were working tirelessly on a solution. It was stated that “WHO and partners have worked to develop and disseminate resources in multiple languages and formats to help different groups cope with and respond to the mental health impacts of COVID-19. For example, WHO produced a story book for 6-11-year-olds, My Hero is You, now available in 142 languages and 61 multimedia adaptations, as well as a toolkit for supporting older adults available in 16 languages.” (“COVID-19 Pandemic”). Not only that, communities had also been supporting each other by offering free open gyms and free yoga classes (Haines).

An element often underestimated is the importance of mental health. It can hit someone relentlessly without much warning. It impacts different aspects of someone’s life and greatly influences the way someone thinks, behaves, and feels (“Which Conditions Need Mental Health Awareness?”). Furthermore, negative energies can spread rapidly, and plague everyone in the community with a gloomy mood. Consequently, a key factor to prevent this is raising awareness. First to identify the things you enjoy doing to support your own mental health, then the second stretch would be to unfold the positive energies across the community and support others by giving answers you gave yourself that can potentially save lives. Though it is vital to keep an open mind when supporting people suffering from mental disorders. Make them feel included, let them know they are not fighting the demons alone, and to ensure the negative energy does not pass on forward (Haines).

NAMI, October, 9, 2019 Image source:  https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/October-2019/Mental-Health-Conditions-Seen-in-Childhood

All in all, the virus had been a tremendous labor for humanity for the past few years. Stirred by lockdowns, COVID tests, and living in constant fear allowed depression and anxiety lurking in the dark to make its moves, luring countless souls into a pit of sorrow. Likewise, mental health can too be punishing like a virus on the inside if ignored. Issues like school closure had great impacts on students. When schools closed, so did school lunch. Families that rely on school lunch are finding a new source of nutrition. This had parents stressed out and children starving since all the resources were invested in preventing COVID-19 from spreading (“Nutrition Crisis”). Though,  organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) had been working soundlessly on solutions. They have produced products such as story books for people to cope with the stress COVID-19 brought to us all (“COVID-19 Pandemic”). Even tiny actions like opening free gyms or giving free yoga routines can translate to positive energies multiplying swiftly. Keeping a stable mental health should always be a top priority, especially during this brutal time (Haines). It would not only benefit yourself but also drag others out of the negative spiral.

A Bullseye View, Image source: https://corporate.target.com/sustainability-esg/community-engagement

Works cited

“Coronavirus Worldwide Graphs.” Coronavirus Worldwide Graphs, Worldometer,

     www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/worldwide-graphs/. Accessed 5 June 2022.

“COVID-19 Pandemic Triggers 25% Increase in Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression

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Haines, Kara. Personal interview with the author. 19 May 2022.

“Nutrition Crisis Looms as More than 39 Billion In-School Meals Missed since

     Start of Pandemic – UNICEF and WFP.” For Every Child, UNICEF, 27 Jan.

     2021, www.unicef.org/press-releases/

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“What Is Mental Health Awareness, and Why Does It Matter?” Port ST. Lucie

     Hospital, www.portstluciehospitalinc.com/

     what-is-mental-health-awareness-and-why-does-it-matter/. Accessed 5 June

     2022.