Students’ Pandemic Mental Health: 2003 vs Now

*This article was originally written as an assignment

Imagine spending your formative years being holed up in your room, a warm blue light illuminating your face as you furiously type away at an essay due at 11:59pm. Your friends, nothing but mere busts on a screen in multiple rectangles. The only interactions you’ve had are with those in your household, while you long to meet others and return to a sense of normalcy. Loneliness eating you up from the inside. Day in and day out, the same routine for months on end.

Such was the reality for many students when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, and the population was forced to go into lockdown.

While not on the front lines, students have also had their mental health affected by the pandemic and have taken to it in different ways. This, however, differs based on the severity of the circumstances. Students today feel much more differently compared to students of 2003, when the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) hit our shores.

However, this wasn’t always the case in the event of pandemics. Back in 2003, Singapore went through a similar situation when SARS hit. The viral respiratory disease resulted in a two to three week leave of absence from schools, which was adhered to by all students.

27-year-old Mohammad Zakaria recalls what it was like to be a student in 2003 when SARS hit, “I believe we were given a letter that said that there'll be two weeks that we don't have to attend school.”

When asked about how the absence from school affected him, Zakaria stated that he was “pretty much happy” to have been given two weeks off from school as it allowed him time to play “block catching with my neighbours”

While the absence from school felt like an extra holiday, he still had to complete his assignment via the E-Learning portal, “We were given, like, pretty similar to like home-based learning kind, so for the two weeks we [siblings] had to share computers and all just to do our homework,”

His learning experiences in a pandemic differs from those of today, in which technological advancements allow for classes to take place remotely rather than just daily submissions of assigned homework.

A significant difference in Zakaria’s experience from current students’ is that he was allowed to leave his house after his homework was completed, “We do our best to finish as much of our homework on the E-Learning portal right, and then we will actually spend the rest of the time outside of the house, like, playing,”

The 27-year-old summarises his memories of the leave of absence as positive with no detriment to his mental well-being.

While Zakaria had a pleasant experience during his absence from school, the same cannot be said for the students of today.

Due to the severity of the COVID-19 in comparison to SARS, the lockdown imposed was respectively stricter as well; spanning several months. People's lives were disrupted by quarantine, especially when there was no way to get around or carry out everyday tasks outside the home. Such tasks included socialising with others as humans are social beings.

According to a study conducted by Elsevier, individuals aged 40 and younger presented more depressive symptoms than those above 40 in 2020. These were brought about by loneliness in quarantine and constant exposure to dire updates via social media and the news.

Other characteristics include worrying about student status, a substantial number of lockdown days, unemployment, having to go out to work in the midst of a pandemic, having an infected acquaintance, the existence of chronic diseases, and poor self-rated health.

While there is no confirmation that students’ mental health will improve as restrictions ease, there are some things they could do to cope with how they feel.

The Adelphi Psych Medicine Clinic recommends utilising technology to keep in touch with their friends, finding an online community with those who share a similar interest, reduce their time spent on constantly checking for COVID-19 updates, and finally, to allow themselves to feel and understand their emotions instead of bottling them up.

If you or anyone you know needs help:

Samaritans of Singapore (SOS): 1-767

Institute of Mental Health: 6389 2222

CARE Singapore: 6978 2728