February 3: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a mental health crisis that has impacted people all over the world. Lockdowns have forced millions indoors, upturned daily lives and routines, and altered the school-education experience for a generation. The COVID crisis has tightened the link between depression and lifestyle habits – the association between disruptions to physical activity and mental health has never been clearer. 
One demography has been susceptible to these non-physical impacts of COVID-19 in particular: young people. The upheaval of daily lives including a lack of physical contact with peers, seclusion at home, and for some, the loss of financial and emotional security has increased in youths the risk of suffering from mental health disorders. 
These disruptions have consequently contributed to the diminished productivity of the youth. Such stressors worsen already worrying trends that have been observed in studies of adolescents. While the cost of the long-term impact on the lives of children is immeasurable, the World Health Organization estimated the economic loss from mental health conditions (2012-2020) to exceed $ 1 trillion in India. 
Multi-pronged challenges face our youth:
Education and the widening digital divide
With the pandemic entering its third year, the impact on the mental health of the young has continued to take a toll. Lockdowns have necessitated school closures and separation from friends, social activities, and sports. The emotional stability from the routines of education and recreation has been destabilised as well, leaving many young people anxious and afraid for their future.
Additionally, the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated an already existing digital divide among strata of society. According to UNICEF’s research, only 60% of students in India were able to utilise remote-learning resources, and nearly 80% of children in the age group 14-18 reported falling behind in learning. 
Many students worldwide have lost nearly a school year and schools in some nations are yet to reopen. A World Bank article mentions that learning poverty, defined as the percentage of 10-year-old children who cannot read basic text, is set to increase by 17% to nearly 70% in countries with low or medium incomes. In fact, the problem is not limited to developing nations alone. Lockdown measures have created learning losses amongst the youth even in European countries with the highest incomes. 
Impact on young women
Though lockdowns have confined both men and women into homes alike, the share of household chores borne by women has not reduced during the pandemic. The pandemic has only pushed them deeper into the confines of their homes. A study of girls between 13-24 from India’s 7 cities found that nearly 80% of the girls had an increased workload of household chores and 64% could not find adequate time to study online. With women slipping deeper into domestic duties, prospects of education, career, and financial independence of young women have reduced – nearly 42% of young girls reported an added pressure to get married. As a result, thoughts of self-harm and distress during lockdowns have been more prevalent in young women.  Globally, these findings have held especially true in vulnerable groups such as young girls, women, and people facing socioeconomic disadvantages; nearly 24% of BAME (Black, Asian, and minority ethnic) respondents and 18% of women reported thoughts of self-harm and suicide.
The youth affected more than adults
Though rates of psychological distress have already been increasing over the last decade in young adults, the COVID pandemic has proven to be a mental pandemic for the youth. While 19% of adults in the US reported feeling depressed or anxious, this figure was double for young adults. 
Reports from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that the rates of depression and anxiety are already over 60% for young adults between the ages of 18-24, of which nearly 25% reported to have felt suicidal in the previous month. These estimates indicate an increase in mental health issues of 25% in young adults and college students compared to 2019, prior to the pandemic.
Moreover, The State of the World’s Children 2021 report found that 14% of 15-24-year-olds in India reported feeling depressed and losing interest in daily activities. This corroborates the research of the American Psychological Association, which found that increased isolation with a continuing pandemic has only worsened the mental state of young adults. Nearly 80% of college students reported feeling depressed with the impact seen across a wider range in age. Gen Z, young people between 13-23 years of age, are the group hit hardest by the mental disruptions of the pandemic in the United States.
Disruptions in physical activities
The burden of school, social, and work restrictions is leading to increased stress in young adults who are increasingly worried about losing precious time in the years of their prime. This includes missing traditional milestones, relationships, and career opportunities. With many physical activities tied to social interactions, these disturbances are manifesting as changes in lifestyle behaviours and mental health. In fact, disruptions to physical activities and associated lifestyle behaviours seem to be leading causes of depression in young adults.
According to a survey based on young college students comparing their activities before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, major behavioural changes in the use of time, physical activity, sleep patterns and mental health can be observed. These include striking statistics such as screen time doubling to over 5 hours per day, the time spent socialising reducing by more than 50% to less than 30 minutes per day, sleep increasing by more than 25 min daily, and average daily steps dropping by over 50%. Screen times have increased in the pandemic not only as a means for education/ learning online and social connection, but also as coping mechanisms for disruptions in behavioural habits. 
Worryingly, these disruptions may have effects that are not easily reversed by simply removing restrictions and restoring old patterns. 
An untreated mental crisis
Treatment gaps concerning mental health trends have been noted even before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health suggests that nearly 14% of adolescents aged 12-17 in the United States experienced at least one major mental health disorder in 2017. In spite of the US being one of the highest-income countries in the world, nearly 60% of these children did not receive any treatment.
While research has unearthed evidence of the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of children and young adults, there are signs that children are becoming reluctant to seek help for mental health issues as well. This trend seems to be more prevalent in India, where only 41% of young people between 15-24 of age said that they thought it was good to seek support for mental health issues. This is in stark comparison to young adults of other countries, where an average of 83% felt that reaching out for help for mental health problems was the appropriate way to deal with these problems.
What do we do?
We already know that younger people are struggling more mentally than previous generations and that trends in mental health have been going downwards. Children are living in increasingly transient circumstances and their mental health problems such as anxiety, loneliness, and depression are getting exacerbated.
With schools and colleges reopening in India and all over the world, it is imperative that we, as a society, address the negative impacts of COVID-19 closures. Policymakers, educational leaders, teachers, families, and institutions must collaborate with the youth to ensure that young people have the necessary support needed to address their emotional and mental needs in light of the pandemic.
An integrated response is needed to protect the mental health of young people:
·Teachers and faculty will have to be empathetic and observant to recognise signs of possible problems such as depression, signs of self-harm, and aggressive behaviour. Online resources and mental health services must be made available to students at risk. In such cases, the young must be provided spaces to express their emotional state safely, confidentially, and without judgement to help them learn self-regulation. 
·Parents and family members will have to recognise the risks youngsters face and seek immediate help from professionals if symptoms of mental stress are observed. As learning and educational models are disrupted and redrawn, parents must empathise with their children’s struggle to adapt to changing methodology and temper expectations regarding performance in school. They also must help the young develop a positive mental attitude to navigate the uncertainties of the coming years and safeguard their mental well-being. 
·Schools and colleges must provide support for students at risk of leaving school early. Young students with existing mental health problems should be prioritised in order to minimise the impact of disruptions in learning on their long-term career prospects. Counselling sessions by mental-health professionals/ psychologists in primary, secondary, and tertiary educational institutions need to be normalised as part of school life to help reduce the stigma of mental health issues in children and young adults.
·An effective response to the mental crisis of the youth is not possible without the full support from policy and decision makers. Psychological interventions for the youth and mental health services in addition to those in schools and universities are required. In recognition of the urgent mental health and emotional needs of the populace, the Indian government has announced the launching of the National Tele-Mental Health programme with 23 tele-mental health centres in theUnion Budget 2022. Focusing on digitisation and mental health, the support framework for young people both in urban and rural populations can be strengthened.
Governments and health experts hope that with the advent of the Omicron variant, COVID-19 might devolve to an endemic health problem from a global health crisis. However, there is no guarantee of there not being any closures or lockdowns in the near future. In such a scenario, the impact of social isolation, lack of stimulation, and disruptions in physical activity on the development of adolescents must be controlled. The preservation of young people’s social networks and fulfilment of their developmental needs are needed to manage their mental health and future labour security. India’s working-age population is set to grow by 97 million by 2031 – the time to take action to help our youth in the best possible manner is now. 
Contributed by: IshiqaMultani
                          President, Sagar Group of Hospitals 
Explained: How to calculate tax on income from crypto
Elizabeth II’s reign a second ‘golden age’ for Britain?
Saving for a rainy day? Your umbrella just got costlier
Kim Jong Un rides white horse in new propaganda video
Covid breathalyser test for mass screening developed
Direction easier but didn’t make me money: Belawadi
Here’s what we know about Omicron’s ‘sister’ BA.2
National
Karnataka
Bengaluru
Sports
Business
Multimedia
Opinion
Entertainment
China gives torch to galwan soldier
Covid hits Team India
China’s Galwan losses higher than reported
DH Changemakers: 22 to Watch in 2022
Latest Photo Galleries
DH Picks
Latest stories
Trending news
Download DH APP
Services
Our group sites
Download DH APP
We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve user experience. This includes personalising content and advertising. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy.
We use cookies.

source