Covid-19 and Mental Health
By: Avantika Samanta
The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted nearly everyone on this planet. The lives of people changed lives in several different ways and still is to this day. Not only has this disease had physical effects but it is also impacting the mental well-being of people everywhere. Mental health has been a crisis for a long time, impacting people of all ages. Most of the focus regarding this pandemic has been centered around transmission possibilities, cures, side-effects, and severity yet there haven’t been many studies regarding its impact on mental health. This disease has been challenging for everyone, and has created even more problems for those who already have mental disorders.
Prior to this pandemic it was reported that 1 out of 10 adults experience symptoms of anxiety or mental illness but during this pandemic 4 out of 10 adults reported experiencing these symptoms. Social distancing practices are required to prevent the transmission of Covid-19, and this disease is very worrying, but this can lead to feelings of isolation and additional stress which can negatively impact the mental wellbeing of anyone. This pandemic has also taken a toll on the economy, many people have lost their jobs which makes life even harder. Parents are worried for their childrens’ health, both mental and physical health. This stress is natural and it can cause changes in appetite, difficulty with decision making, feelings of anger or sadness, difficulty sleeping, and more.
Healthcare workers are some of the most severely impacted due to their constant exposure to the disease itself, along with their interactions amongst people who have been severely impacted by the disease and are in danger. Healthcare workers have been and still are working in the front lines to fight Covid-19, so not only are they susceptible to catching the disease, this can also hurt their mental health. These doctors, nurses, paramedics, and others are experiencing long working hours, fear their loved one may get hurt, increased patient load, danger of catching the disease themselves, and being unable to effectively help all patients due to the lack of cure towards the beginning of the pandemic, all of which has the potential to negatively harm their mental health.
Aside from these essential workers, many other people are additionally impacted in equally harmful yet alternate ways. Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic, Non-Hispanic adults are 48% more likely to experience anxiety or disorders due to Covid-19 and Latino/Hispanic adults are 46% more likely to. Due to the lack of childcare and school closure mothers are also experiencing negative impacts on mental health. Young adults have also been severely impacted by this pandemic, 56% of young adults reported anxiety and/or mental disorders and compared to adults they are more likely to experience suicidal thoughts or turn to drug usage due to this additional stress. Various public health measures and services would be sure to help people everywhere face these problems, and also prepare for future mental health struggles that people may experience later on. These measures could not only increase access to mental health help facilities but also just bring awareness to the mental impacts of Covid in general. Some simpler ways to cope with all of this additional stress is to get enough sleep, exercise when possible, unwind and relax for some time, and stay in touch and connect with others since communication and connections can be limited. Although this pandemic situation may be getting better it is still important to watch out.
This entire pandemic has hurt everyone drastically in different ways and it has been very challenging. It has taken an emotional, mental, physical, social, and economic toll on many people and has harmed the mental health of many. But it is important to remember that it may take time, but it gets better.
Is Reason or Emotion More Menacing
By: MariaJose Flores
As stated by Neil Tyson, “Everything we do, every thought we’ve ever had, is produced by the human brain. But exactly how it operates remains one of the biggest unsolved mysteries, and it seems the more we probe its secrets, the more surprises we find” (Neil deGrasse Tyson). As Neil Tyson said, the human brain remains one of the biggest secrets yet to be unsolved, from how it develops to how it processes the information, provoking a vast amount of questions. An individual’s actions are challenged in a way to discern if they tend to act with reasons or emotions, subsequently making them ponder if such could be more menacing than the other. Significant actions take place all throughout a person’s life, most of which need to be analyzed to be able to comprehend what their purpose served in the future. These actions involve behaviors that dispute an outcome of reason or emotion. Reason refers to an explanation or cause for an action to happen and emotion refers to an individual’s natural state of mind. Behaviors are provoked by the situations that enclose an individual, but to what extent could it be considered a risk between reasoning and emotions?
The brain begins its development “between conception and age three,” enabling the brain to evolve “80 percent of its adult volume” (Day). Children tend to be more unreserved with their actions and their behaviors, influencing their way to logically contemplate situations. When a child’s brain is developing, parents play a big role in their lives as they help them “recognize” and “achieve goals,” generating them to feel “motivated” and “interested” (“Middle Childhood”). The brain also plays a big part, as it’s divided into three parts, one of which is responsible for automatic reactions, better known as the amygdala. The frontal cortex is the area of the brain that is responsible for reasoning. This part of the brain is still changing and developing well into adulthood. Causing individuals to be led by “the emotional and reactive amygdala and less by the thoughtful, logical frontal cortex” (“Behavior, problem solving, and decision making”).
Fear is one of the many emotions that shapes an individual, and this one in particular allows for “strong signals” to occur when one is exposed to emergencies (“Overcome fear and anxiety”).
At times, circumstances don’t go the way as planned, and in this case, fear turning into violence is a visualization of an individual acting impulsively, reasoning with their heart, inevitably turning into brutality. Emotions begin to cover their perception of reality, making it difficult for them to distinguish between illusions and the real world. Unfortunately, fear is “one of the most powerful emotions,” as the effects that it brings to the body are “very strong” (“Overcome fear and anxiety”). This emotion is one that can be easily triggered by undemanding situations. It can become a long lasting problem if it’s consistent throughout a person’s daily life.
As stated by Bertran Russel, “Power… is the fundamental stuff of human relationships in the way that energy is the fundamental concept in physics. And having power over others – defined as controlling resources that they want, need or fear – has profound effects on mind and brain, as does being in the power of others” (Robertson). As Bertrand Russell said, power is an indispensable need in an individual as it helps shape a person as to what they can comprehend, in spite of the fact that it can have compelling effects on the mind and the brain. Power can be righteous, but it can also be evil affecting the individual itself and those around them.Groups depend on “expectations and rules” producing an anticipated behavior from the members that allows for the group to “function smoothly and retain its identity,” and most times there’s mutual visualisations of “being superior to others” which helps “ensure cohesion” but can also bring consequences (“Human Society”). According to Human Society, “patterns of human society differ from place to place and era to era and across cultures, making the social world a very complex and dynamic environment” (“Human Society”).
Emotions cause spontaneous actions and behaviours that can provoke consequences to the individual and others around them. This provokes inadequate behaviours to form. As humans, it’s probable that ordinary situations trigger distinct feelings among individuals, emphasizing in the need of self control to have balance.
Anorexia Nervosa in Nature vs Nurture
By: MariaJose Flores
An evil good living inside our chamber of thoughts. Locked in this body, the light is too far away. Anorexia Nervosa is a mental illness with a “distorted perception of weight” (Anorexia Nervosa). It’s one of the numerous eating disorders that affects about “30 million people” just in the US (Eating disorders statistics). It forms a part of a major concept, personality, usually referred to as behavior. Anorexia is often being linked to the debate of nurture vs nature, nurture being past experiences that led a person to be the way they are and nature referring to genetics. Anorexia Nervosa is a life-threatening illness formulated by nurture, specifically through the dissection of personal relationships, the influence of social media and the impact of the beauty industry.
Emotional instability is one of the most outlooked concepts concerning past trauma. Anorexia attempts to dominate over family support by cutting out communication, in which, occasionally help is shown in a variety of ways, although not all are presented the same way. Emotions can be demanding, they can make the relationship strained making it more of a challenge to “open up,” providing the eating disorder a path to prosper and thrive without being disrupted. On the other hand, the person might feel “frustrated,” acknowledging the urgency of the situation by opening up, but instead, because of miscommunication families resort to solving it “through their own ways” (Anorexia and Bulimia Care). When an eating disorder is presented, families often tend to be overprotective. Not even realizing their discharging ultimatums, unnecessary comments, shaming, blaming, and giving simple solutions (Smith). There is no such “training” or “advice” when suddenly faced with “restricted eating, binging or purging.” At times making parents “question their parenting skills,” opting to acknowledge the “why’s,” instead of the “just us” (Anorexia and Bulimia Care). People need “warm and safe environments,” to help them grow, learn, and understand what “strong relationships” are like (Family relationships important). With this in mind, social media is also a contributing factor to Anorexia Nervosa.
Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, VSCO, what is there not to love about social media. Images and advertisements can dictate an anorexic’s mind. Pictures often portray one side of the story, the happy, the perfect, the unique side, that is capable of influencing eating disorders, most common, anorexia. 8-18-year-olds are “engaged” with social media are connected for “about 7.5 hours per day” (NEDA Feeding Hope). As technology advances people advance with it as well. “Of American elementary school girls who read magazines, 69% say that the pictures make them want to lose weight” (NEDA Feeding Hope). Losing weight is not to be felt like a must, it should be a conscious decision made by someone to look better for themselves. In the same way in which advertisements cause the same dangers. The name says it all, they are meant to promote a product. According to the website, Body image and advertising “the average woman sees 400 to 600 advertisements per day, and by the time she is 17 years old, she has received over 250,000 commercial messages through the media” (Croft). Most of the advertisers have a plan, meaning “constructing an emotional experience that looks like reality,” creating “messages” according to what they want the audience to see. Making them feel “compelled” or bribed into buying the product (NEDA Feeding Hope). Similarly, the beauty industry revolves around Anorexia Nervosa.
Beautiful faces, perfect bodies, real-life angels. The dark truth, standards, and the beauty industry tends to point out the shape of a person from standards known as, “the thin ideal.” According to Western beauty pressures, “despite the high failure rate of the weight loss industry, pressure on women and girls to meet the thin Western beauty “ideal” remains. In contemporary Western culture, the thin female body is associated with health, wealth, success and beauty” (Mckay). In other words, the thin ideal is brought along by many stereotypes, the most popular being, what a person should look like.In this case, the level of perfection that a person should be capable to reach. Beauty magazines often become “how-to manuals” guiding women struggling with eating disorders, in “attempts to obtain an elusive and impossible standard of physical thinness.” Rooting for the “anorexic desire to restrict” at times ignoring comments from people around them, pointing out the obvious, by “promoting” messages that approve of the thinness and dieting (Spettigue). Messing with the person’s mind, not letting them be capable to realize the harm they’re causing upon themselves. Making it a life-threatening illness, by going against their body to reach impossible goals set upon society. Anyone can believe they’re beautiful, the problem comes when the person feels as if they have to go to extremes to reach it. In addition to the beauty industry, a debate, to better understand how anorexia nervosa is developed.
Develop usually means to grow or cause to grow. Some might argue that anorexia is caused by genetics, the brain’s structure. However, there’s a significant amount of proof showing how it’s developed from psychological, environmental, and social factors. According to ULifeline, “in fact, eating disorders are common in individuals who struggle with clinical depression, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Other factors include low self-esteem, feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy, trouble coping with emotions or expressing your emotions, and perfectionism impulsivity.” Demonstrating that a lot of the development of an eating disorder is related to how the person copes mentally. Similarly, culture and environment cause an effect on anorexia. Seemingly normal, society encourages “the thin ideal, dieting, and body dissatisfaction” (ULifeline). Although genetics and the brain’s structure is often mentioned as to why this illness develops, there is no actual proof to say it’s correct. According to Eating disorder hope “research results showed results of possible chromosomes 1 and 10 that appear to be significantly linked to anorexia and bulimia” (Ekern). Keyword, possible. It’s not a stated fact meaning it’s not correct but it’s not wrong. Better known as a hypothesis, experiments are made but they all end with words such as possibility, chance, etc. While there is no actual proof that anorexia is caused by genetic factors, there is sufficient information for the nurture side.
As previously mentioned before, anorexia nervosa is produced by nurture, specifically through the evaluation of personal relationships, social media influence and the impact of the beauty industry. Anorexia is a life-threatening illness, going against a person’s health to achieve a major goal. Whether it be anorexia, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. An illness doesn’t define a person, it’s a struggle, having to deal with the emotional and the physical exhaustion that it brings. In the end, a person is capable of doing whatever they set their mind to.
Work Cited
Covid-19 and Mental Health
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Is Reason or Emotion More Menacing
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