Sawyer Bailly
I’d like to begin this post with a quick story. About a month ago, I went to the ARC for the first time this semester. I was a little nervous. How could a gym, where every surface is covered in everyone else’s sweat, possibly be COVID-safe, I wondered. Nonetheless, I had been going stir-crazy in my house, and it was getting too cold to run outdoors, so with the help of my housemates I booked an appointment for the next morning and reserved a treadmill. My friends, who had already been, explained to me that changerooms were closed, so I would have to arrive at the gym ready to go. The following day, I dragged myself out of bed, put on my gym gear, and was on my way.
My experience at the ARC felt surreal (or “apocalyptic”, as me and my friends joked). Everything felt different and strange and not at all normal. I signed a waiver attesting my health, showed it to the girl at the desk through a layer of plexiglass, and dropped it in the bucket below. I then stood with a small group of people as we waited for our cue to enter, which came in the form of a voice over the loudspeaker summoning us into the gym.
Despite the oddness of it all, I applaud Queen's for their resilience in these uncertain and scary times. The re-opening of the gym was clearly extensively planned, with a great deal of care being taken to ensure that the ARC was as COVID-safe as possible. I have no doubt that dozens of professionals were part of restructuring the gym. This new version of “normal” was not thrown together on a whim, but rather carefully planned with great attention to detail, from the bucket to the loudspeaker to the online registration system.
The re-opening of the ARC, and all of the new rules and restrictions that come along with it, is part of a detailed plan to ensure the physical health and wellbeing of all the students. It was a demonstration of Queens’ commitment to their students’ physical health, and as someone whose mood largely depends on being active, I appreciate it. Queen's is taking COVID seriously. However, the university must put this same effort towards the mental health and wellbeing of their student body, especially as we enter our first winter of the pandemic.
As we approach the colder, darker winter months, psychologists throughout the country are expressing concerns regarding the mental toll of rising COVID-19 cases and tightened restrictions. Many people who have not previously experienced mental health issues are struggling in the midst of the virus. While COVID anxiety has been the dominant mental health issue of the pandemic thus far, professionals fear that this will turn into COVID depression in the upcoming months as a result of people feeling hopeless or discouraged in the face of rising cases after a relatively relaxed summer.
“When we saw everything we were doing was having an effect and the numbers were dropping, that empowered us. It made us feel like we’re beating this thing,” said Steve Joordens, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto. “And that is great until the numbers start to go up and we start hearing that more restrictions are going to be in place… and we might start to feel like everything we did didn’t matter. It came back anyway.”
Experts say that young people are especially impacted by this. Many university students feel that their mental health will take a hit as we move into winter, with businesses throughout the country closing due to the pandemic. “Everything was stressful during the first lockdown,” says Kari Stevenson, a fourth-year student at Carleton University. “I lost a lot of weight and then I stopped getting my periods.” The stress of the first lockdown even led fourth-year student Jorden Egan to start having panic attacks. “I didn’t have an outlet because there was no going out, no getting close to people, no seeing people,” they said. These experiences are not uncommon; since the pandemic, many university students have reported increased symptoms of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, stress and loneliness.
The reasons for this are expansive. Firstly, students are spending lots of time alone during what is normally the most social time of a young adult’s life. According to mental health officials, many students have reported feeling trapped in their apartments or dorms, with the days seemingly blending into one another. Weather is also a factor here; winter days are shorter, darker and lonelier, whereas the warmer summer weather had allowed for more socially-distanced time outdoors with others. Noreen Sibanda, a registered psychologist from Edmonton, says that restrictions on social gatherings can negatively impact people’s mental health by depriving them of connections and support systems that they may have not realized they needed.
In addition to these extended and often lonely periods of time indoors, many students and their families are also confronted with financial stressors, such as losses of income, unemployment, and high tuition rates. On top of this lack of social interaction and an increase in financial troubles, online classes themselves pose a great challenge. Many students report struggling with motivation and focus as hours of lectures, quizzes and the dreaded discussion sections pile up in the blink of an eye.
Unfortunately, the pandemic is a reality and social distancing is a necessity. That being said, universities have a responsibility to prioritize the mental health of their students. Counselling and therapy must be readily accessible to anyone who needs it. Throughout the semester, I have received many emails from Queen’s regarding COVID-safety. I believe that, in addition to these, there need to be email newsletters pushing for self-care, mental and emotional wellbeing, and for students to seek professional help if they need it.
I hope that moving forward, Queen’s not only brings attention to the mental health consequences of COVID but also extends a hand to any students who may be struggling. It is up to the university to actively ensure that people feel comfortable seeking help, rather than feeling embarrassed, uncomfortable or isolated. In doing so, mental health care can be normalized, rather than treated as scary or taboo. That way, we can begin to see acts of self-care, whether it be therapy or going for a walk on the pier with friends, as just as much of a health necessity as working out at the gym.
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