The pandemic is making depression and anxiety worse for college students
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Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study showing how rates of depression and anxiety grew during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationwide, anxiety severity scores increased by 13% from August to December 2020, with 18- to 29-year-olds getting hit the hardest.
Those trends were reflected in the state’s universities.
A University of Arizona survey showed two-thirds of students reported that their mental health and depression worsened directly because of the pandemic.
And many of those said they had to change their school plans.
Meanwhile, the pandemic prompted Arizona State University’s Counseling Services to make changes. It expanded the ways people receive treatment when they can’t meet in person.
Aaron Krasnow is the Associate Vice President at ASU’s Counseling Services.
"We call it open call open chat, and what that does is you can chat with a mental health provider like a texting conversation, you can call and talk to someone any time of day anywhere in the world or you can schedule telehealth, telecounseling appointments with a counselor."
Krasnow said winter often leads to worsening depression but added he is not sure how the pandemic will affect that this year.
