CU Health and Wellness Summit 2020 Logo (Courtesy of the University of Colorado)
Dr. Tina Pittman Wagers, a Teaching Professor and Clinical Psychologist in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder, gave an online presentation Tuesday on the impacts of COVID on student mental health- a theme in CU’s ongoing virtual Health and Wellness Summit.
Why it’s Important
Across the nation, students face higher levels of depression, anxiety and subsequent impacts on academic performance since COVID-19, according to a recent survey from The Healthy Minds Network and the American College Health Association. Rosi Kaiser, Ph.D. with CU’s RADD Lab, spearheaded a study showing CU students are not immune to these same concerns.
Pittman Wagers began the presentation by acknowledging the extremely stressful situation everyone faces during COVID, referencing systematic reviews of mental health disparities across all populations and exacerbating inequities before focusing on how COVID significantly affects students.
“Even before COVID, the mental health of college students was becoming really concerning and was even deemed a public health crisis by Auerbach [et al.] in 2018,” Pittman Wagers said.
Pittman Wagers highlighted a silver-lining: that stigma around mental health might be going down as students feel more comfortable accessing services but emphasized that students are increasingly distressed, reporting more psychological problems and sought after mental health services.
What’s Happening Now
Pittman Wagers went on to say, “Students are feeling depressed, having difficulty functioning, feeling anxiety, having some suicidal thoughts… a lot of loneliness.”
She continued, “College students are finding it harder to engage in school, which is unfortunate, since engagement in school… is protective against mental health symptoms, so I think that has some important implications for what we can do on our campus to keep students engaged.”
In the RADD Lab study, students generally respond that they are not getting enough social support during COVID, but feel support from staff and faculty on campus.
“That sense of isolation and being removed from typical sources of support is definitely showing up in these data,” Pittman Wagers emphasized.
Contextualizing The Issue
In the qualitative portion of the study, students could indicate problems they face related to COVID that they want their professors to know as they navigate college. Some answers include crowding houses, a lack of structure, lots of anxiety and difficulty motivating themselves. They feel in disconnect isolating and face a lack of social interaction overall, and the internet is unreliable.
On top of these stressors, students increasingly deal with political tensions around COVID.
Pittman Wagers talks about how “these sort of political kind of tensions that are playing themselves out in family context around whether COVID is real or not, whether quarantine is reasonable or not.”
In the rest of the presentation, Pittman Wagers focused on better tackling students’ issues with their mental health today, including coping strategies, increasing mental health service access and implementing wellness culture in the classroom.
Pacing yourself and taking care of the fundamental necessities emerged as a core theme.
Pittman Wagers stressed, “As we get older, we kind of fool ourselves thinking that ‘I can forgo sleep, I can eat whenever I want, I can have one schedule one day and one schedule the next day, and it’s going to be fine.’ No – it’s not. If you take care of some of these self-regulatory activities first, it will be easier to deal with a lot of other stuff.”
The speakers suggested ways to create a sense of community within the school with ideas such as building a classroom community by ensuring students connect with their professors and with each other.
Pittman Wagers concludes with a custom quote from the Dalai Lama, “Compassion is not only an evidence-based tool, but it’s also the radicalism of our time.”
If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Use these resources to find support for you, a friend, or a family member.
Call 911 if you or someone you know is in immediate danger or go to the nearest emergency room.
Colorado Crisis Line
1-844-493-8255
coloradocrisisservices.org
Chat online or text TALK to 38255.
Crisis Text Line
crisistextline.org
Text 741741 from anywhere in the nation to reach a counselor.
CU Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS)
303-492-2277 (24/7 support)
Schedule an Appointment
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Noah Holtgraves at noah.holtgraves@colorado.edu.
