Pooja Shaunak
Reporter
The pandemic has taken a mental toll on people around the world. Many have seen increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health situations including the students attending Mississippi University for Women. Kat Lewis is a freshman Speech Language Pathology major, and Emma Beeler is a junior English Creative Writing and History double major, and both say the pandemic has impacted them, but in different ways.
Beeler states that the pandemic has had a toll on her mental health. Beeler said she constantly thinks about all who have passed away from COVID-19 and fears getting it herself and passing it to her loved ones. She gets increasingly worried when she is sick because sickness could mean anything in the pandemic, and you can never be too careful. Beeler said that the living through the pandemic has her thinking that “grieving” is the new normal.
A major change for Kat Lewis is the fact that they live 10 hours away from home. Lewis decided to attend The W because some family members are alumni of the school, but being far away from home has made them realize how much they missed seeing the people they were closest with physically. At first Lewis was overwhelmed by this campus because the only people they had connections with and who knew the campus were in Texas.
Beeler, who only lives an hour away, has similar feelings. She was involved in a car accident last semester and had to deal with that trauma alone.
“Another aspect of being away from home is that you often lose what you’re familiar with, both in terms of learning about a new place and the people around you,” said Beeler. Although not being close to her family can be hard, she does enjoy her independence. Beeler lives off campus, and she has a roommate and a pet who make being away from home less anxiety inducing.
Beeler said she is clinically depressed and has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, commonly known as ADHD. She relieves the tension of school by being creative. She said she enjoys sewing, embroidery, collecting plants and writing. Writing is often Beeler’s go-to for difficult situations because it allows her to articulate feelings that she may have trouble talking about. Sewing and embroidery also function as mindless activities that simply bring her peace.
Lewis has been diagnosed with OCD, ADHD, RSD, GAD, and PDD (dysthymia).
“This is quite the alphabet soup of issues,” said Lewis.
Sometimes they have taken a toll on their life. When they try to pay attention to their homework, they often find themselves apathetic towards it, but then get anxious over a sticky note that is not symmetrical. Lewis relieves their tension by listening to music, and much like Beeler, being creative. Lewis tends to lean towards these stress relivers because they are low-energy activities to focus on.
Both Beeler and Lewis are in the Honors program, but have different views of the program since they are at different classifications. Beeler, who is starting her senior year in August 2021, is stressed, but also looking forward to her senior research project. Even though the research project a lot of work, she is excited to take it on and is glad to have been given the opportunity to be an Honors student. Lewis, on the other hand, states that they sometimes feel pressure to be a “well rounded” Honors student. This pressure is from themselves and can stem from their imposter syndrome that kicks into gear when they do not understand a lesson in class.
During this pandemic Beeler and Lewis both recommend taking mental health days. Lewis also gives advice to those who live far from home: “make it your own.” Lewis has found comfort in the art, plants, fish, and other items that they have in their dorm. When they come back to their dorm from a stressful school day, they can look around their room and see representation of their friends, family, experiences on campus and growth.
Students are coping with the challenges posed by COVID-19 in different ways, but all of them look forward to a return to normal events and classes at The W. As Lewis and Beeler have found, finding ways to lower stress right now can go a long way toward helping them deal with life until then.