LOCKDOWN EFFECT ON YOUNG MIND

Lockdown has been proved to very much mentally stressful and causing anxiety in young minds. Be it children, high-school students, graduates or a job worker — many of these who are brought up or are currently undergoing this crisis are either stressed out, suffering from anxiety, getting frustrated due to the restrictions and worst of all if someone close to the family or them succumbs to death. Grieving because of the loss they suffered can be very difficult at times like these. These points are discussed very briefly. When it comes to young minds, we need to think from students of schools, high-school, and students pursuing graduation and post-graduation and the graduates who are currently in the profession of work or are looking for work.

 

So, beginning with children of the school, as it is known younger ones need to go out as they barely understand the meaning of restriction, for them the whole world is a playground. But during this pandemic for many, it feels like they are in a prison. To teach them the restrictions and hygiene is the least of the problems. The difficult parts come when they are not able to communicate with their parents as such is the age where they rather have a conversation with their teacher or friends but can’t reach them. It’s such a hard and difficult time for the children and teenagers but what makes it harder is the fact that children feel varied emotions and at the same time struggle to articulate what they are experiencing. Maybe they all are grieving the loss of playfulness, spontaneity, and the ability to be carefree. No doubt the social media and other means of communication are there but a physical presence and touch can lead to a lot better mental health for them. At a time where we are experiencing so much change, uncertainty, and worry, it is completely natural for children to want to be around friends. Due to social distancing rules, we cannot be physically close to them, and this can be frustrating or distressing for many of these young ones.

This lockdown is also indulging in many youths in the social media world, non-productive things like PUBG, PlayStation games, etc. These things are making the youth mind in another direction and this might affect the future generation.

Moving towards the high-school students; most of us know that the big exam of Boards and its heavy mental stress on the students who would be giving it. Now with the addition of the pandemic, the stress has crossed the yielding point for many of them and this in turn has given rise to the suicide rate in the intermediate students. If the medium of communication between the child and parents is not strong then the child would constantly be under stress, tension and would be suffering from anxiety. It’s normal for them to feel worried or anxious at the moment. This entire shift to online school has been overwhelming for them where for long durations they are expected to pay attention to their teachers via screens. Children miss the ability to have random conversations with their classmates, their lunch break conversations, and also the ability to run in the school playground or go to their favorite football or other active class. 

Nobody wonders what happens to all that energy and enthusiasm children innately bring with them and how do they channelize it? Everyone is experiencing sudden changes in their lives and routines — and living with lots of uncertainty about the coming weeks and months. But for them, the coronavirus pandemic may also worsen or trigger anxieties they were already struggling with.

Now the students who are pursuing graduation or post-graduation there is this one other for these youngins, the online classes. As the word online states, what they do is stay in front of a screen for hours more than a job worker so that they can learn, which is not only deteriorating their health but also, they are not programmed to learn with efficiency without being physically there. They can’t learn the technicalities just from video lectures. Students are misusing the online lectures by commenting on it, distracting others, playing songs and so on These things were creating online classes into a time pass and there was zero learning for the students. 

On the education front, even though universities are trying their best to bridge the gap by providing online education, not all of them have access to the required equipment or even the internet connection. In the absence of regular classroom education, screen times for them have certainly increased. Because of this many students are suffering from severe headaches, increase in eye power. It also puts them at the risk of falling prey to cyberbullying. Moreover, the lockdown has resulted in families and children cooped inside their homes, which is bound to spell trouble for kids already suffering from mental health conditions.

 The irritability and anxiousness are bound to rub off on each other leading to tension and stress in the household. It can also lead to a rise in domestic violence and abuse cases as families are largely restricted to their homes. Those students who were Staying at hostel far away from home just for studies were excited on each long vacation and holidays to be at home are now in the four walls of the house for a long time saying that “AB GHAR NHI AYENGY COLLEGE KHULNE K BAAD”.

Those who are currently in a job and some of them may live away from their family are physically or mentally stressed out. That’s not all, working from home can be that much of an issue to the youngsters as well because before the beginning of this pandemic they used to go to work for a regular set of hours but now they have no defined working hours whenever the superiors call one needs to answer. Be it meeting, taking a class, or working on a project. The working hours and the time for their lives now seem to have become the same. Stress is very high right now. Young graduates who have been looking for internships, have no chance at it at least soon. This inability to get into the job markets plays high on the minds of the young and the rates of youth suicides are anyway very high in India. 

It’s very traumatic for them as everyone’s at home all time. Self-regulation is not something that young ones are used to and not something they had to do for a long period. Now they are suddenly being pushed into the mindset of a grown-up. And that’s not all when experiencing grief and loss, it can be hard for many, this might feel especially difficult at the moment. Many have been unable to be with their loved ones when they died, or unable to attend someone’s funeral. What deepens the problem for these youngsters is that constant exposure to news and information has added to their anxieties and fears. A lot of them are struggling with anticipatory grief already where they are worrying that they may lose their parent or grandparent to Covid-19. This sense of heightened alertness it’s as if in their minds they feel they are fighting an invisible monster, yet they worry that it can just sneak up on them anytime and hence they feel so helpless and out of control.
Disasters and crises have had many less highlighted consequences on vulnerable subgroups, including those often overlooked, such as adolescents and youth. The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. While understandably the nation is engaged in fighting a pandemic of huge proportions, this relatively healthy and safe sub-population’s needs may not appear to warrant immediate attention. Nevertheless, as we look ahead to the post-lockdown period and beyond, the ways in which the pandemic may have affected our 365 million-plus adolescents and youth, and their needs in the upcoming months and years, must be considered. After all, what happens to this generation affects not only their health and well-being in adolescence, but also their health and well-being as adults, and that of the next generation.

There is limited research on the situation and needs of adolescents in disasters and crises that can guide how we respond to concerns surrounding this group today as well. What everyone needs to do is help these young people, be it emotionally, physically, or if they are in need of medical therapies. All of the society needs to come together and be there for the upcoming generation as who else they would look upon?