For teens, new worries and mental health challenges in pandemic

Mar. 11—A year ago, high school stopped being normal in any sense of the word. So did life in general.

While it might take time for local data to emerge on just how the COVID pandemic has affected teens' mental health, students say they're experiencing increased stress, anxiety, and frustration, and for some an existing depression has become much worse.

Dr. Mary Tatem, who is the director of student services in Danvers, said teens aren't necessarily reporting more issues, but they have new worries now because of COVID-19.

"There hasn't really been a noticeable increase in students, teenagers, exhibiting mental health problems in general," Tatem said.

It's more or less similar in terms of numbers, and there may even be fewer hospitalizations, she said.

"What is qualitatively different is that the worries teens have right now are centered around insecurities specific to the pandemic," Tatem said.

Students are worried about getting COVID and about their friends and relatives getting sick, she said, and the inconsistencies with school schedules are also a source of stress.

"I really believe that all of us, all human beings, need structure, and I very much believe that kids, all kids, need structure, and they need to be able to count on things happening in an organized manner. Right now, that's all turned upside down," Tatem said.

The guidance coming from the state changes depending on rates of new COVID cases, and schools respond accordingly.

"It's nobody's fault," Tatem said, "and you can only do the best you can, as far as putting structures in place that are consistent and that people are able to count on long-term."

Tri-Town Council (TTC), which is based in Topsfield, focuses on mental health issues for teens and tweens. Part of the organization's mission involves giving youth healthy tools to deal with stress and anxiety.

"When COVID hit, of course, like everybody, we were all like 'oh, wow, what do we do with this,'" TTC Executive Director Meredith Shaw said.

TTC does not have hard data, but anecdotally, Shaw said, she is hearing that isolation is affecting kids and that rates of anxiety and depression are increasing. That tracks with what national surveys show, that seven in 10 teens are struggling with mental health issues during the pandemic, and four in 10 are experiencing depression, she said.

When remote classes first started, Shaw said, some kids reported doing OK because they got some relief from not having to get up and out of the house, and they could avoid dealing with the social aspects of school. As the pandemic has continued, however, kids are saying that it's hard to stay motivated, Shaw said, and they miss seeing their friends in-person.

Ada Yu attends Masconomet (Masco) in Boxford and serves on the TTC Youth Action Advisory Board (YAAB), which is a group of Masco students working to prevent/reduce substance use among youth.

Yu was participating in the hybrid program at Masco, but when case counts increased, she decided to go all-remote. She said she's not only missing the face-to-face that builds relationships with teachers, but she also feels she's not getting vital hands-on lab experiences in her science classes.

"I'm more of an experiential learner," Yu said. "I like to hold things and do things in person and see how they work. I feel as though I don't understand the material as much, so I'm not as confident when I go to take my tests."

Yu is also worrying because when the internet cuts out, she feels she's missing important deadlines because she couldn't hear them.

Alexis Earp, who is a junior at Marblehead High School, said, "There are just so many different expectations this year and we can't even go to school in the normal way."

She said that because the school year started off in such a weird way, it's been hard to get back into the swing of things.

"It's been a lot harder to motivate myself to do the stuff that I need to do, like schoolwork," she said. "I procrastinate even in normal years, but I just feel like I've been worse about time management this year."

She's compared notes with other students, she said, and they agreed that while they aren't getting more work this year, it's harder to get the work done.

Masco student Anna Strom said, "It's definitely affected my mental health, and in a negative way I would say, just because I'm at the computer every day for multiple hours."

Like many students, she finishes her online classes and then does her homework online.

"It's a lot of screen time," Strom said, "and that affects your sleep schedule, which can affect your mood, and it just escalates."

Strom said she is usually fine with being by herself, but the pandemic has been challenging because she's totally by herself and can't see her friends.

"I get so tired," she said. "It's also that motivational piece about schoolwork. Finding that motivation to apply yourself in whatever you're doing, whether it's school or relationships."

For one Beverly student we spoke with, the switch to remote learning has been devastating. Because of the nature of his experiences, his family asked that his name not be used.

"The online experience is horrible, and I dread waking up every day," he said. "I've experienced a resurgence in clinical depression due to it. It doesn't seem like really anybody in the school system is interested in changing things so it's not bad."

The teachers, he said, are "doing the best they can with what they're given," but the administration hasn't been responsive.

"I find it increasingly difficult to convince myself to care," he said.

His mom said it's been heartbreaking to watch her son struggle.

His being online constantly with very short breaks between classes has been sucking the life out of him, she said, and at the same time, the school hasn't adjusted its expectations of students.

"I think that the school, as much as they're trying to deal with it, to me it feels like they have the same expectations, the same expectations to get all the work done, the same expectations for grades," she said.

In addition, she said, remote learning has required a level of self-direction that many adults would even find difficult.

"They're expected to check lists every day, keep on track of what assignments they have to do and do it mainly on their own," she said.

Her son was an A student, but before Christmas of 2020, he was failing. While he's never been very organized and has always had some anxiety and depression, everything became worse with virtual classes.

"He got behind. He got in the hole, and he just didn't have the executive function to do it on his own," she said.

He was having depression and anxiety to such a degree that he began cutting himself, she said.

At one point, she said, he had a meltdown and his emotions ranged from anger to despair, and he said he just couldn't do any more online classes. It was a stark difference from how he was before the pandemic.

"He's the kind of kid that he'll be in the class, he'll retain and understand everything, he'll participate, the teachers love him because he participates, and he understands the material and really adds to the class," she explained, "and I think for him he gets a lot of reinforcement out of that, positive reinforcement."

He never had homework, she said, because he always got it done during the school day, and he didn't have to study much for tests because he retained so much of what he learned during class-time.

"He's really missing that interaction, where you're just engaged and the learning is happening," she said. "That's not the case right now."

The possibility of loved ones getting sick has added another layer of anxiety for students.

"Just worrying about my friends and family, wondering if they'll get it, it's definitely a source of anxiety for me," Yu said.

That concern has affected students' decisions around taking classes remotely or in-person.

Earp's grandparents live nearby, and her parents have been taking care of their shopping, so they don't have to go out as much. She and her brother originally chose remote so they could protect them.

"We were worried about us getting COVID and then our grandparents being exposed through my mom," she said.

But, Earp felt like she didn't have a choice but to switch to hybrid and take some courses in-person.

"I basically felt like I was being forced by the school to go into hybrid because the plan for remote was so bad," she said.

Because the High School didn't offer the same classes in remote that were offered in hybrid, she wound up taking all but one of her classes on a platform called Edgenuity. The platform doesn't have instructors available to answer questions.

"Part way through the first quarter, they finally assigned teachers to subjects, but until that point, if you needed help, you didn't have a teacher to go to," Earp said. "That was really stressful."

Strom said that because she has family members who have medical issues, she chose to take her classes all-remote.

"If I were sick and gave it to them, I would feel really bad, so I'm very conscious about that," she said.

Tatem said that despite the challenges, there will likely be some positives that come from how the schools and students have had to adapt during the pandemic.

"For instance, now we're stressing certain kinds of skills, like more executive function skills, teaching kids how to plan a little better for themselves," she said.

Also, she said, students are learning life skills, long-term thinking, and how to treat people in the world we live in now.

"Those are skills that are going to be very important for teenagers as they become adults," Tatem said.

Having to adjust to so many different things because of the pandemic has been stressful, said Masco junior and TTC YAAB member Maria Belhous. However, there are also some good things happening, she said.

"It's been nice to stay at home," Belhous said. "I get to spend more time with my family at least, and I feel like I've developed a closer relationship with my sister."

In addition, she said she's finding more time to read, something she loves to do, and she's exploring new activities.

"The pandemic has really opened up more opportunities for me in a way," Belhous said. "Now I'm looking into different activities, different things that I can spend my time with that I've never thought of doing before."

Overall, Belhous said, things haven't been as bad during the pandemic as she thought they might be, and she takes comfort in knowing that she isn't alone in dealing with the challenges.

"We're kind of all in this boat together," she said.

Tri-Town Council: TTC offers numerous resources, including Project Safety Net, a mindfulness video series, and a counselor resource list. Visit: https://www.tritowncouncil.org/mental-health

Zen Center of the North Shore: The center has both ongoing programs and special events related to meditation. Visit https://zencenternorthshore.org/

Harvard University's Making Caring Common Project: "Loneliness in America: How the Pandemic Has Deepened an Epidemic of Loneliness and What We Can Do About It." Visit https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports/loneliness-in-america

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