COVID-19 has changed lives all over the world. From the start of this pandemic, we have changed most parts of our lives. At least for me, this pandemic changed my whole outlook on life. I forgot what it was like to be around my family 24 hours a day, doing the same thing every single day. At the begging of the mass shutdown, I thought this was going to be a temporary thing; at most a month. Little did I know that this was going to be our new normal. I was so burnt out from school and almost was thankful that I got a break from in person classes but that soon got old. Being on Zoom calls for hours a day and trying to interact with my peers as best I can through a screen was one of the hardest times in my life. I soon found my mental health deteriorating. This pandemic has changed not only how I view life, but what it means to be a nurse. 

Personal sphere considerations

I never really found myself struggling with mental health problems but COVID-19 changed that. Not only did I see changes in myself but I saw changes in the people that I loved most. Being in isolation with the same people everyday somewhat brought us closer but I also saw changes in how my family was dealing with the stressors associated with isolation and uncertainty. It was very hard for me to talk about how I was feeling to my family members because they were going through the same thing so it wasn’t like I could use them to vent to.

Mental health is a topic not many people want to discuss. A lot of the times, people are told to be strong and that mental disorders are something to be ashamed of. I could see the ones I loved most slowly letting this pandemic get to their heads. While we were all in quarantine together, not many people in my household were talking about how we were feeling inside. I knew my parents felt financial uncertainty and my siblings and I felt uncertainty about our education. During this time, my sister was supposed to graduate from college. This is one of the most important times in sometimes life. Two months into quarantine we watched my sister graduate and walk across the living room in her cap and gown on a virtual graduation. This must have been so hard for her to comprehend and come to terms with. We all wanted to support her and make her feel as though we weren’t upset about the circumstances. During the lockdown, I learned how to be a more compassionate person who wanted to help people who are struggling with mental health. Never did I think that I wanted to go into mental health nursing, but times like this opened my eyes to so many people struggling.

I saw first hand how isolation can affect mental health. Humans are born to be social creatures. We were forced to stay at our houses and do the same thing everyday. Lives changed all over the world and yet I never heard much about how this was affecting mental health. I felt as though peoples mental health was not addressed. For me, I learned how to cope with how I was feeling and I knew I could rely on my family for support during times of uncertainty but many were as lucky as I was. In a survey done by the CDC, it was concluded that “During late June, 40% of adults reported struggling with mental health or substance use” (Czeisler, 2020). These numbers are high and there are probably so many more unreported numbers of people struggling with mental health or substance abuse. This shows just how prevalent mental health issues are. 

Professional sphere considerations 

COVID-19 has impacted nursing students development because not only did we get time taken away from the clinical setting but we lost so much valuable peer-to-peer interaction. Nursing school is all about learning how to take care of a patient and often times we practice and learn on each other. During this time, I was watching the news a lot and I realized just how important nurses and health professionals are. When in a pandemic, the people go to health care workers first. Patients often think that nurses have all the answers because they know how to make you physically and mentally feel better. Because of COVID, it has become clear to many that nurses are burnt out. Nurses mental health is just as important as everyone else. In an article written by Lynne Pearce she discusses how “Nursing staff need help now to deal with unimaginable levels of anxiety and stress” (Pearce, 2021). This pandemic was really the turning point and I believe that nurses mental health is more widely talked about and recognized. This may have opened doors for mental health to be discussed more; not only with patients but with health care workers as well. 

Community/global sphere considerations

This pandemic has impacted our communities future wellness needs because during times of isolation was when many peoples mental health problems heightened. Many probably thought they had stress and anxiety on a day to day basis before the pandemic and never did anything about it. As soon as seclusion hit, these mental health problems were in the forefront. While this is unfortunate, I also think that it may have paved the road for many people. Nowadays I feel as though mental health issues are more widely talked about and accepted. As nurses, we knew that mental health had a stigma and has a high prevalence. The stigma around mental health has been getting better over the years but I think that because of the pandemic, many realized just how common mental health issues are. It is sad to see just how many people have mental health problems but I think it’s amazing to see many get the help they need; especially nurses.

References 

Czeisler, M. (2020, August 14). Mental health, substance use, and suicidal ideation during the Covid-19 Pandemic – United STATES, JUNE 24–30, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm#suggestedcitation

Pearce, L. (2021, March 23). How COVID-19 is affecting NURSES’ mental health, and what to do about it. Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/features/how-covid-19-affecting-nurses-mental-health-and-what-to-do-about-it-159456