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Observation by Experts at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital
- Pandemic induced home isolation and shift in work/study formats are the major factors
- Anxiety, Depression and low concentration are some of the highly reported problems
India
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New Delhi, September 01, 2021 :
The Covid-19 pandemic and the associated mandatory protocols, restricted the life of young adults within the four walls of their homes. With remote learning being the only solution for continuation of studies, the use of internet has increased manifold. Further, with the absence of outdoor activities various behavioural changes have been observed in the young adults, who are both school and college going students. Being restricted to homes, having an increased screen time, absence of physical activities and a prevalence of sedentary lifestyle is making them behave more agitated and feel helpless.
Such behavioural changes observed in young adults can be attributed to long term implications of increased screen time and less or no physical activity. As a fact, physical activities and exercise stimulate the release of brain chemicals like endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin that play a vital role in regulating an individual’s mood. Release of these chemicals is essential to maintain a good appetite and proper sleeping pattern. Therefore, till the time students remain indoors with an absence of physical activities and exercise regime, such behavioural changes are evident.
Dr Sandeep Vohra, Senior Consultant, Mental Health & Psychiatry, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi said, “Pandemic has created a major shift in which the students have to stay indoors and study from their homes in the absence of physical classes. All this has got a major change in the lifestyle of young adults who are both school and college going students and impacted their mental health. With an absence of a structured routine, the students are having erratic sleeping patterns and an unregulated access to social media.
This is further deviating their attention from their studies and symptoms such as irritability, uneven sleep problems, appetite problems, weight gain, etc. are becoming more common in them. As a matter of fact, the number of OPD consultations for young adults have doubled for anxiety, depression, gaming addiction and inability to concentrate and focus on studies. Hence, parents are advised to actively engage with their children, talk to them and observe all kinds of behavioural changes shown by them.”
The mental health issues of young adults should be addressed at the earliest and if the parents or the teachers think the problems cannot be addressed at their level, they should refer their children for emotional wellness evaluation or intervention, if required by mental health professionals. In times of the pandemic where the lives of various people have been entirely changed, it is very important to address issues related to mental health.
Adolescence is an evolving stage of life, any disturbance in terms of both physical and mental health at this stage can hamper the future experiences of life. Hence, parents and teachers should maintain a healthy and friendly relation with children under this stage of life and help them in coping up with any challenges faced during this stage of life.
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