Depression during COVID
According to the American Medical Association journal JAMA Network Open, nearly a quarter of people in the United States are experiencing depression symptoms. That's almost three times the number before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
People with lower income, smaller savings, and affected by the pandemic — either through a job loss or the death of a loved one, as examples, are likely to carry these symptoms.
When a population experiences something traumatic, such as our current pandemic or natural disasters such as our recent fires, researchers expect a rise in mental illnesses in following the event.
But the mental health toll of this coronavirus pandemic seems to be far greater than previous mass traumas, says Catherine Ettman, a doctoral student in public health at Brown University.
"We were surprised at the high levels of depression," Catherine Ettman says. "These rates were higher than what we've seen in the general population after other large-scale traumas like September 11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Hong Kong unrest."
"I think it reflects both the widespread nature of this particular trauma as well as the fact that there are multiple traumas," says Dr. Sandro Galea, an epidemiologist, and dean of the School of Public Health at Boston University. Galea coauthored the new study with Ettman.
Traumas linked to pandemic have included ongoing stress and fear of catching the disease, grief over the illness, or loss of loved ones, anxiety over the economic fallout.
"It's not one of these 'we get hit, and it's over' kind of things. That is, psychologically speaking, the easiest thing to recover from," says George Everly, a psychologist at Johns Hopkins University. The latter wasn't involved in the research. Once a discrete disaster is over, he says, people often can start rebuilding their lives and regain a sense of normalcy.
Our students are most vulnerable during this time. We continue to reach out and provide them with health resources on our Coronavirus (COVID-19) site (which includes our Coping with Stress and Anxiety resource page) during this disquieting time.
Though it’s harder to reach out to students, our staff has been working diligently to assist those with needs to help them stay in school.
Literacyworks Center Student Update
As the global pandemic changed everyone's lives last Spring, it changed our students' experiences in some particular and significant ways. In a normal world, staff would have been meeting with each of the 110 students individually. We call it our 'one to one.' It is here that we discover the challenges, needs, and achievements of the folks we work with. This allows us to look for ways to provide support. What follows are the comments students made to staff during phone calls or emails, which replaced the one to one meetings.
My husband lost his job right away. My work hours have been cut in half. I can do online classes for now; the amount of work is much greater. We are worried about money.
Online classes are hard for me. I've never had them before. Math is impossible, so I will drop the class but keep my English. The teacher is very nice. I miss my friends.
I made the change to computer-based classes. My son helped me. I have no job, and my savings will not last too long. My daughter is helping me with the rent. God bless her.
I clean houses as my job, and now no one wants anyone in the house, so I have no work.
My husband lost his job and is looking for something else. Worst is my daughter has got to have surgery.
I have five kids. I passed my GED [high school equivalency test] last semester. It took a long time, and I am so proud of myself. I dropped out of school very early and had no confidence that I could succeed, but I did. Now I am taking classes to become a nursing assistant and maybe even a nurse.
Life has changed so much. My husband has a full-time job.
I work in an assisted living center with very old people. The Corona Virus hits these people very strongly. I like the work, but I am really afraid of bringing the virus home to my children.
My husband lost some hours at work and is afraid he may lose more. I work part-time in a store, and I volunteer at the food bank making deliveries. The online classes are going well. Being home allows me to help my daughter with her classes.
Biology is very hard. I work full-time with Hospice. I have all the protective equipment, but I am scared. I work all day with people who are dying and hear all night how so many people are dying from the virus.
I am taking Early Childhood Development and English classes. I like the classes. All my kids are staying home and staying safe. That means so much to me. Money might become a problem soon. I will call you if I need help.
I can't complain, I'm lucky. Both my parents work and still have their jobs. I lost my job at the outlet store. Classes are OK so far, but I am lonely. I miss my friends and my teachers.
Many emotions have emerged from these interviews. Fear, an obvious and understandable one. Hope that things will get better and not worse. But perhaps the most significant one is resilience – the belief that even in the face of unanticipated change, loss, and disruption, we can go on.
SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS!
Our low-income students are among the most vulnerable in our community when it comes to suffering during a disaster. Because of the COVID-19 epidemic, many of our students are suffering a loss of income and housing. Also, SRJC has been closed since the first of April when online classes began.
Our staff is offering additional support services to ensure our students stay in school and complete their course of study. We are proud that most have persisted and remained.
Thank you for supporting our students with your donation during this difficult time. You are making a difference in their lives with your gift.
