Mental Health in a Pandemic: Alternative Confrontations to COVID

Holistic methods for mental health have always been a part of Sandoh Ahmadu’s life. 

His mother is a skin therapist who uses meditation and alternative approaches in her practice while his dad is a recovering alcoholic whose spirituality was a key element to his rehabilitation. Now a student at Elon University, Ahmadu grew up surrounded by the influence of alternative and complementary medicine, but didn’t actively practice it himself until more recently, with the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic biting at his heels. 

“2020 was difficult for me. I did struggle with depression and anxiety,” he disclosed. “Meditation in combination with breath control has really helped me.”

He started internalizing meditation last year and has spent 2021 engaging in individual practice and attending meetings for the university meditation club. It helps calm and center him, he said, a helpful and easy addition to his life.

“It’s like riding a bike,” he said. “It’s second nature for me.”

Ahmadu’s not the only one struggling with mental health over the course of this pandemic though, and he’s not the only one who has taken his mental health and spirituality into his own hands.

Beneath the surface of the COVID-19 pandemic looms an unofficial second pandemic: one of mental health. 

In June 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study that found that 40.9% of respondents reported “at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition,” 30.9% of which included symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders. Among those having reported such, a disproportionate number were young adults ages 18 to 24, racial and ethnic minorities and essential workers.

From August 2020 to February 2021, the CDC reported that the percentage of adults experiencing symptoms associated with depressive disorders and anxiety disorders rose from 36.4% to 41.5%.

“Public health actions, such as social distancing, are necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” explains the CDC mental health webpage, “but they can make us feel isolated and lonely and can increase stress and anxiety.”

The CDC identifies potential symptoms of this isolation including increased feelings of worry, and anger, loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping and increased substance use. Physical manifestations such as the worsening of chronic health problems as well as body pain, headaches and rashes may also result from these increased anxieties. And for those who lose loved ones to COVID, manifestations of grief can be an additional and extremely heavy weight.

And increasingly, many of these symptoms are going untreated. From August 2020 to February 2021, the percentage of CDC study participants reporting unmet mental health care rose from 9.2% to 11.7% with the largest increases being among 18 to 29-year-olds and individuals with less than a high school education.

When faced with a mental health crisis, the go-to solution may be to meet with a therapist or enlist counseling services. However, due to pandemic-induced increased demand as well as social distancing, face-to-face therapy sessions may not be as obtainable. On a base level, the CDC recommends taking measures such as stepping away from news coverage of the pandemic, taking care of physical health and connecting with other people and communities.

Adapting to ever-changing COVID circumstances, counseling services have introduced innovative models for mental health care and patients have taken control of their mental health. Elon’s community members are no exception. 

Below, explore the different methods and approaches being taken at advancing pandemic-era mental health in and around Elon’s campus. Please note that though our sources have found assistance through an array of practices, we are not promoting any treatments described.

National Emergency Services

Call 911

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800.273.8255 

Crisis Text Line: Text 741741

Elon University Services

Crisis counselor-on-call: 336.278.2222

Counseling Services

For someone to talk to

Student Care Referral