During the pandemic, stress and anxiety have gone up drastically according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). COVID-19 most prominently is said to be affecting high school and college students’ and their mental health. On Nov. 11, the NHS web page shared a link for students, prompting them to take advantage of various counseling services if they felt as though the services would be beneficial.

NHS employs five counselors as well as a social worker for students to talk to or email at any time. Whether this be for class related issues, seeking advice for college applications or just to talk one on one about mental health concerns. Junior Ember Suter said her mental health has not been affected greatly from COVID-19 due to choosing the remote path of learning. 

“I’m completely remote and I’ve found that it is sometimes difficult to remember when and where to turn in assignments,” Suter said. “It is also difficult staying organized when it comes to assignments and emails. For me, remote is a lot better for my mental health because it is constant. I don’t have to deal with the uncertainty about whether I’ll be in person, hybrid or remote in the future.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for approximately eight months in the United States, three of those months have been months that students have been attending school. Freshman Sadie Nattier along with a handful of other students says that this year has affected her anxiety greatly. Nattier says that although sometimes she is struggling she is finding different ways to help her mental health. 

“This year has definitely [strengthened my anxiety] with everything going on with the virus,” Nattier said. “There has been so much going on this year that it is almost impossible to keep up with everything going on. [To cope with this] I normally will watch a lot of YouTube videos and also draw to help me calm down and deal with the stress.”

Harvey County has approximately 1,025 cases of COVID-19 as of Nov. 16. This spike in cases has prompted the USD 373 school board to move into the orange phase of learning. This means NHS students are all remote with some exceptions. Suter says that although the times are tough, it is important to take time for yourself, as well as embrace mask wearing in order for this pandemic to end sooner rather than later.

“For people who are stressed out about this year just remember to stop for a second and take a deep breath. Try to find time for yourself even if it’s only five minutes and don’t forget to get some fresh air,” Suter said. “This pandemic will end someday, and it would end a lot faster if everyone would wear masks correctly any time they leave their house. For the people who don’t wear masks, it’s really not that hard, and it’s scientifically proven that masks don’t decrease oxygen intake.”