Virus takes mental toll on teens
Pools are nearly vacant. Cinemas are closed. Restaurants are empty. This is the new normal.
David Esquibel, a counselor at Monte del Sol Charter School, says this new way of life amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is compromising teens’ mental health. When the virus emerged in New Mexico, it “broke everything wide open” and “disrupted the rhythm and the structure that is needed for safety, especially for adolescents,” he says. Because teens have lost so much, so bruptly, Esquibel believes many young people are going through
a period of grief and suffering from anxiety, depression or both.
Campbell Leonard, a recent graduate of Santa Fe Preparatory School, says she “struggled learning to cope with losing the celebrations of
s nior spring, but more than that, t’s been really taxing … to get used to all the uncertainty about the future.” Leonard says the biggest challenge for her is trying to move forward after high school, knowing “anything can happen nowadays.”
Dr. Sudha Kailas, a psychiatrist in Santa Fe, says this is compounded by the fact that many teens in quarantine lack normal social interaction — “a very important developmental stage in a teenager’s … growth.”
Juli Bray-Morris, a counselor at Academy for Technology and the Classics, agrees, noting that “it’s important to have peer connection and to build social skills and empathy.”
“Being stuck at home, away from your friends, is a really big deal for adolescents,” she adds.
Oz Leshem, a rising sophomore at New Mexico School for the Arts, says it’s especially difficult not seeing family. He considers his friends to be an extension of his family and says not being able to see them has “taken a mental toll” on his well-being.
This is one of Esquibel’s concerns as a parent and counselor. He links the inability for teens to be social to a fluctuation of a hormone called oxytocin, which has been nicknamed the “love hormone” for its involvement in social bonding. Stress related to the pandemic can also affect memory, he says.
Many experts and teens worry quarantine is affecting some teens disproportionately, such as adolescents who live in unstable households that were facing domestic violence, addiction or mental health issues previous to the pandemic.
“Adding the extra layer of COVID-19 and the way that is traumatic for many people, it’s exacerbating those symptoms and they can’t function,” Bray-Morris says.
Additionally, with unequal access to health care and COVID-19-related education, it can be harder for teens from low-income families to know the do’s and don’ts that help prevent the spread of the virus.
To deal with these inequities and isolation, Leshem has continued seeing a therapist during quarantine. He says that “especially in a time like this,” it’s critical to have unbiased advice on how to cope.
Still, not everyone feels their mental health has been negatively affected.
Gabby Deswood, a rising sophomore at Santa Fe Preparatory School, says COVID-19 hasn’t had a significant impact on her way of thinking and being. While she feels “a big difference in everyday life,” she is “trying to make it as normal as possible.”
Deswood says participating in a dance camp hosted by the National Dance Institute over Zoom, as well as doing art projects, taking walks and reading, helps her stay focused and motivated. She, like others, says mental stability stems from creating structure, setting goals and staying connected to friends.
Both Esquibel and Kailas advocate getting outdoors as much as possible and taking a break from screens. And Bray-Morris advises teens to get their “MEDS,” which stands for meditation/mindfulness, exercise, diet and sleep. These are natural ways to boost one’s mental health, she says.
Finding joy is critical now more than ever, as Bray-Morris expects COVID-19 to have a long-term impact. She compares the effects of the pandemic to those of the Great Depression and hypothesizes this public health crisis “is going to have the same level of impact on this generation and on all generations.”
Fortunately, many Santa Feans believe positive change is coming.
“We have a lot facing us, especially in this country,” Leonard says, “but I think the pandemic has made us more resilient and adaptable.”