COVID-19 has changed the way people do everything in their daily lives. Such a drastic change in normalcy can take a toll on someone and their mental health. Specifically in colleges and universities, students have changed every aspect of the way they learn, socialize and just live. 

Classes are online, club meetings are over Zoom, no more parties and no more grabbing lunch with a group of friends at the dining hall. All of the normal parts of a college experience are gone because of COVID-19, and students have been forced into isolation while getting their education. 

Anna Boyd, a senior art major at SUNY Oswego, said the isolation of this semester is something she really struggled with. Since art is a hands-on major, Boyd felt that she could not get the education she wanted, pushing her into a bad mental state and causing her to take the semester off. 

“I did go through a month of school before I dropped this semester,” Boyd said. “I didn’t feel like I was getting the education I was paying for. You can’t do ceramics from home. I can’t have access to the equipment that I need for these classes. So how am I supposed to excel?” 

Boyd said that many other students that she knows have felt this way. Some have taken the semester off and other “friends are coping in different ways.”

Joshua Kelly, a heath and wellness student at SUNY Oswego, said he feels more comfortable being at home while school is mostly online. He said being in a college environment without the social aspect was hard for him, as he noticed students living on campus were also struggling. 

“Students on campus that are in my class described it as living as prisoners,” Kelly said. “They can only leave for class or food. It’s cutting off the natural social instinct for students.”  

Living in isolation makes it hard for students to continue with their work normally. Katherine Wolfe-Lyga, the director of the SUNY Oswego counseling center, said it is normal to feel this way. 

“I hope anyone who has really struggled this semester can have some self-compassion and be kind to themselves,” Wolfe-Lyga said. “This has been hard for all of us to adjust to. We don’t have an instruction manual for this. We just need to take care of ourselves, look out for our friends and loved ones and keep plugging away.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms in anxiety and depression in people have had a significant increase during the months of lockdown. The CDC also said that these symptoms are “disproportionately affecting specific populations, especially young adults …” 

“We have seen an increase in students feeling isolated and lonely,” Wolfe-Lyga said. “But otherwise students are reporting a lot of the same issues as in the past.”

Students like Boyd and Kelly said they have never used SUNY Oswego’s counseling services. Boyd said she does not feel comfortable going through the school. 

“School already gave me anxiety, so thinking of going to something through the school made it even worse,” Boyd said.

SUNY Oswego’s counseling center has turned to online services, offering telecounseling and other services remotely. However, like most other online services, it is not something that students want to reach for.

“I think it’s harder to get comfortable with a counselor via telecounseling if a student hadn’t met them before,” Wolfe-Lyga said. “Students also report really missing our offices. I’ve heard a number of people report that they felt safe and comfortable in our offices and some of our students have fewer physical spaces in which they can experience that right now.”

SUNY Oswego offers many different programs for students who are struggling with isolation, or mental health issues. If telecounseling is not something a student feels comfortable with, there are other resources available for them. 

“Please reach out,” Wolfe-Lyga said in an email. “Drop into Let’s Talk, call counseling for an end-of-semester consult, work to connect with others you trust, and follow us on Instagram (@mindful_oz) to learn of mental health and wellness-related tips, events and services.”

Photo by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian