https://www.healthline.com/health-news/college-frosh-mental-health
Now is a better time than ever to find a therapist to start talking to. According to a study done in 2016, 39 percent of college students suffered from at least one mental illness. It is so common for those among us to struggle with anxiety and depression, especially with how living conditions have been for everyone for the past month. Cutting down on social interaction and going outside to do things will of course cause you to feel worse. We rely on vitamin D which we get from spending time in the sun to boost our serotonin levels. We also rely on hanging out with friends and having the ability and freedom to do normal things such as going out to bring us joy. With everything happening recently with coronavirus, I’m sure I’m not the only one struggling with the adjustment and my mental health. That’s why I decided to start seeing my therapist again.
When I moved to Boston two years ago, I had a therapist whom I loved. She knew me already, was non judgemental, and was great at giving advice. If you have gone through therapy before, you’ll know that you have to click with the therapist in order to feel fully comfortable and ready to share everything about your life with them. Because of this, finding a new therapist was difficult for me because I have a few specific needs that I would like them to specialize in. Beyond this, my schedule was hectic and didn’t allow for me to seek therapy again.
When everything began happening with COVID-19, I reached out to my old therapist to see if she was doing video chat sessions. Lucky enough for me, she was! This is probably the best thing that has come from quarantine for me, because I’m not sure I would have found a therapist otherwise, let alone found the time to fit it into my schedule. Trying out virtual therapy was new for everyone, but it wasn’t bad at all, so much so that I am going to continue with it after the restrictions on businesses are let up. Because it works so well for me and I have someone I’m comfortable with to talk to, it ended up being the perfect solution for what I had struggled figuring out before: how to fit therapy into my regular life. Having virtual therapy sessions isn’t as bad as it seems, though I think it helped that I knew my therapist beforehand. However, don’t avoid it for that reason alone. Many therapists can do phone calls as well instead if you aren’t fully comfortable with video chatting for whatever reason.
If you think about it, therapists still need to work. And what better time to work on your mental health and wellbeing than during a quarantine? There is all the time in the world that you can dedicate to finding the right person for you to talk to, and to find the time to work on emotional issues you may have ignored due to every day busy life. Right now, prioritize your mental health and work on it with the free time that you normally don’t have. I have been reading books to help with my struggles on top of my therapy, which I found has helped a lot as well. If you have been waiting to seek out a therapist, try it out now. You have nothing to lose and it could end up being the best decision you have made thus far.