The brain is one of the most exciting and unique organs humans have. It is the root for almost everything that people do -- the way they act, the things they say, and their choices. However, as wonderful as the brain is, it comes with side effects. Mental disorders have been on the rise in recent times, and as COVID-19 sweeps the globe, more issues are arising. Research has shown the negative impacts extreme times have on the brain, so the world is now paying more attention to the problem. This paper explores the labs responsible for some of the most progressive mental health research the world has seen.

Hearts pounding, palms sweating, and everyone seems to be looking. A feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind is known as anxiety. A combination of factors, starting from events and experiences to absolutely nothing, can trigger various anxiety symptoms. There is a wide range of anxiety disorders such as social anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). According to the World Health Organization, anxiety is known as one of the most common mental disorders: about 264 million individuals worldwide have an anxiety disorder. Of these, approximately 4.4 million children aged 3-17 have been diagnosed with anxiety, and even more go undiagnosed. According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly 1 in 3 adolescents between the ages of 13-18 struggle with an anxiety disorder that negatively impacts their daily life. Especially with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, results show that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 teen boys have experienced new or worsening anxiety (Healthline).

The Covid-19 pandemic has instilled a sense of chaos in students regarding mental health. Along with the multiple disruptions to everyday life, many students who depended on in-person school became unable to remove themselves from stressful family situations/environments and rather became confined in their own homes while learning through computer screens. Not only is this loss of structure stressful for many students, but having to deal with academic troubles on their own added to this stress. While during regular times, students had the option of going out and finding active ways to release their stress, being trapped with computer screens as companions was an ineffective substitute. Furthermore, online learning has had a negative impact on many students who usually thrive in sensory and social learning environments, for visual and auditory became the only options, resulting in drops of grades and increased anxiety. While regularly, students would be able to directly go to teachers if in need of any help, remote learning restricted students from being able to get the full help they needed -- not to mention daily technology struggles. Even with the tough times revolving around school work such as final exams, students were held with the expectations to keep up high grades without the usual resources provided. While new issues have created an uptick in mental disorders, this topic is not new to society.

In decades past, anxiety was simply defined as the cognitive aspects of apprehensive expectation. For instance, in the 18th century, medical authors published clinical descriptions of what would be known as panic attacks, but they were not classified as a separate illness, but rather symptoms of melancholia -- a mental condition marked by persistent depression. It was not until the 20th century that anxiety was seen as a symptom of psychiatric disorders in psychiatric classifications (DSM). The DSM is The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and contains descriptions, symptoms, and other criteria for diagnosing mental disorders, such as anxiety. In DSM-I, anxiety was nearly synonymous with psychoneurotic disorders and was interpreted as “a danger signal sent and perceived by the conscious portion of the personality.” In DSM-II, the category for anxious symptomatology was called Neuroses. It stated that, “anxiety was the chief characteristic of the neuroses, which established anxiety and neurosis as quasi synonyms.” Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) appeared as a diagnostic category in DSM-III in 1980, when anxiety neurosis was split into GAD and panic disorder (PD). Today, teenagers are a particularly vulnerable group for anxiety and other neurological disorders as, “the average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s” (Leahy). According to the National Institutes of Health, society today has normalized elevated levels of stress in regards to school and numbers continue to rise steadily. Between 2007 and 2012, anxiety disorders in children and teens went up 20%, and even more has gone up in the past year. Anxiety was hardly known as an illness before the 19th century, yet today, anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental illness in the United States, affecting around 40 million people, not adolescents. There is no exact answer as to why anxiety rates have risen immensely, or if it just has not been addressed due to a lack of diagnosis in psychiatric circles, but it remains a question researchers currently attempt to answer. 

Combined with eight, hour long classes and a remote learning environment, studies show how these factors lead to a progressively lower psychological well-being in students today. The survey data of 195 students were recently used at a large public university to understand the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on students' mental health. Results show that the average age of the participants was 20.7 years, with the amount of females outweighing the males by 14%. The mean PSS (perceived stress scale) score, a month prior to the interview was 18.8, indicating a moderate stress level. 138 out of 195 students (71%) reported that their stress levels had increased due to the pandemic with only 10 students (5%) receiving the help of mental health counseling services. The findings of this research suggest a considerable negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a variety of outcomes regarding academics, health, and lifestyle. With the onset of this pandemic, students' mental well-being has increasingly declined as shown in the survey. As stress levels increased, so did the perceived stress score. The normal level of stress carried by most students was shown to have alarmingly increased, while mental health has decreased.

Furthermore, surveys were taken at nine U.S. public research universities and results showed that 39% of all students screened positive for an anxiety disorder before the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the number of students who screened positive for anxiety disorders in a new study went up by 50% compared to 2019. This study was conducted by the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) and co-led by the University of California, Berkeley, Center for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE). The SERU survey was conducted from May through July of 2020 where a variety of social unrest along with the COVID-19 pandemic caused a shift in anxiety and depression rates in the survey. Currently, schools are working to offer a range of resources to its students to help meet basic needs. Counseling and therapeutic services, extensive communication about mental health, and efforts to increase faculty awareness of mental health challenges among students are taking place for the wellbeing of all students. Not only did a pandemic cause a rise in mental disorders, but also the societal issues that coincided with the virus. Now for students, they are expected to keep up with their academics with stay at home restrictions, along with injustice around the world, negatively impacting mental health.

Stanford researchers investigated a new study on the specific patterns of brain activation that protect adolescents from experiencing COVID-19 related anxiety and depression. This study examined the brain scans of American teenagers five years before the pandemic along with self and parent reported surveys regarding mental well-being and progression through puberty before and after the pandemic. The psychologists found that teenagers who showed greater interconnectedness in a set of brain regions were less likely to experience anxiety and depression from the onset of the pandemic. The importance of the executive control network (ECN) is highlighted as Stanford’s postdoctoral fellow, Rajpreet Chahal, states, “the executive functioning in our brain plays a key role in protecting against risk factors that worsen symptoms of depression and anxiety during stressful, uncertain times” (Chahal). Engaging with and strengthening the ECN through therapy and training could help with COVID-19 stress along with basic daily life. Anxiety and other mental health issues may seem unavoidable at times, but with this study of the ECN, it has been shown that students’ brains can be protected from dire times such as the pandemic. By showing greater interconnectedness within various brain regions, students are able to lessen the effects that anxiety can bring.

The first efforts in documenting the psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are relatively new and do have several limitations concerning sizes of groups, generalization of all students, and more. However, as new ways to identify and cope with anxiety are found, there are hopes that future work can focus deeper on probing the relationships between various coping mechanisms and stressors. Furthermore, studies determining the effects of the pandemic on students’ mental health and well-being in its later phases beyond the peak period will need to be carried out. Additionally, although the pandemic is slowly coming to an end with vaccine administrations, there is a high possibility that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students may linger beyond the pandemic itself due to its long stressful duration. This, however, can still serve to have a positive impact overall as this experience can mentally help students prepare for any future extreme times.   

Mental health remains a crucial foundation for a fulfilling life. It includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being and affects the way we think, feel, and act as we cope through the different aspects of life. Especially during times such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be hard to keep a positive, calm composure mentally and physically. With anxiety rates skyrocketing throughout this past year, COVID-19 has taken its toll especially on high school and college students as they continue to maintain a steady academic and social life within the confines of their own home. Researchers and psychologists have conducted studies and research concerning the growth rates and reasoning behind anxiety during such unprecedented times. As for now, life continues on with hopes that future research will continue to bring better insight and solutions for a stable mental well-being. 

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