Like so many sports fans, I felt sympathy for Simone Biles when she stepped away from the Olympic stage to deal with her mental health issues.
As a licensed professional counselor, I could not have been more proud to see her seek out the help that she and so many others need.
Both Biles and tennis star Naomi Osaka showed great courage to remove themselves from the limelight this summer, and it is my profound hope that their bold action will spur other young people to focus on their mental health and get help if needed.
This is particularly true for the soon-to-be first-year — and sophomore — students who because of COVID are about to matriculate to their college campuses for the first time.
Following more than a year of stress and anxiety brought on by the pandemic, college administrators can’t be certain what their students’ state of mind will be when they return for in-class learning. They do know that COVID has had a long-lasting detrimental impact on student mental health. In a survey conducted this spring by my telehealth company, TimelyMD, 82% of students said they felt ongoing stress and/or anxiety a year into the pandemic.
Campus leaders also know that teens spend a lot of time by themselves, playing video games, texting but not talking, connecting online but not in person. Many new college students will find themselves thrown into a community where a sense of belonging often hinges on an ability to socialize and meet new people. It’s up to college administrators to help them put down roots and blossom rather than retreat, because feelings of isolation are often a precursor to anxiety and depression.
I am especially concerned about students of color, whose populations are disproportionately affected by COVID but who do not always know where to turn for help. One study found only a third of Latinx students seek care for mental health, and that rate is even lower for Black (25%) and Asian (22%) students.
