It's the end of the world as we know it.

Not being able to see friends from college, and being isolated during quarantine takes a toll on ones mental health. Everything going on in the world really feels like the apocalypse.

April 3, 2020

Savannah Moffett

Savannah Moffett

Health & Wellness

English Emotion

English Home & Family Life

mental health

Arizona State University

Tempe

empathy

friend

family

email

Mental Health

04/03/2020

09/27/2020

08/13/2021

08/14/2021

4/03/2020

What a wild ride 2020 has been so far. It is barely the fourth month and it feels like it's been the fourth year. Even on the very first day there were talks of a potential world war three. Thankfully, that all passed over but the first cases of Corona-virus were just around the corner. Not only that but Australia had to deal with awful wildfires that burned most of their country. It seemed as though the fires may never go out but after receiving a very heavy rain those too finally went out. By this time Covid had gotten worse and spread into other countries. It hadn’t reached the States yet so we thought we were safe. Then one day, one confirmed case. No big deal, it's just one case. Time goes by like normal but we know that there is potential risk. Then Arizona State gets a case in Tempe. The person doesn’t live on campus and is isolating themselves. We should be okay right? Wrong. Shortly after this, cases started popping up in every state and started to increase over time. We all knew it was a matter of time before we had to become self quarantined. Still we kept on like normal, only we were making sure to wash our hands more. Which should be common sense at this point but here we are. Spring break is coming up so all of us college students are getting excited. We say goodbye to our friends on the last day of classes saying we will see them soon, knowing it will only be a week. In the middle of Spring break we get the email. Classes will be moved to online for two weeks. No big deal we can go another two weeks, it may not even be that bad. Barely into the first week another email arrives, we are told that we will be forced to stay online for the rest of the academic year. Just like that everything changes, no more late night hang outs, no more going to class, no more seeing the friends that you had spent the beginning of the year making, all of it was just gone. For me that was really rough. I knew at that time it was very serious and I needed to be careful because I have a high risk at home, my dad who is a diabetic. I am a very social person and love going out, being without many human interactions is very hard for me and my mental health. I struggle with feeling like I am needed by others so when I am out I get that comfort. Without that, I spiral down into a huge pit of despair that is hard for me to get out of. On top of that, I am no longer allowed to go out and see my boyfriend or my best friend. Without ever knowing that the last time I hung out with them was the last time I was able to see them for whoever knows how long. And I know you may be thinking, “oh that’s not that big of a deal, people are dying, people have lost their jobs and don’t know how to feed their families” you are totally right, my problems are not as significant as others around me, but that also doesn’t negate my feelings and experiences towards Covid-19. My prayers go out to all of the families that are experiencing loss, hunger, anxiety and uncertainty in this new phase of life that has been tossed to us. The only thing we can do as a population as a whole is help others in any way we can and stay home in order to flatten the curve. If we do our part then we can allow the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and all the other health care workers help cure this virus and we can all return to normal before we know it.

981