COVID-19 GUIDE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

The loneliness is setting in. All your friends have left. Maybe you decided to stay close to campus to finish out the college year. School is over in person, yet not really over. Homework assignments are piling up, due dates for group and individual projects are still looming large. You can't ask a question in class because your professor is doing it remotely from there office or home just like you and It’s frustrating. You may be noticing that it’s harder to focus. You are feeling overwhelmed about school and the uncertainty of the remaining months to this school year. Some of you may be experiencing apparent signs of depression like lack of energy, tiredness, difficulty in maintaining personal hygiene, and general irritability. You are not alone and there are several things you can do.

Step 1- Make a daily routine and regimen for studying, exercise, and connecting with your friends virtually. If you like to play video games set aside a time to meet with your online gamer friends but be sure to know when to sign off.

Step 2- It is indeed a big adjustment going to online school for a lot of you. It may be feeling super weird. This can be a time when few of you tend to eat a lot of unhealthy snacks and not get enough exercise. Set aside some time for meal preparations and eating more fruits and vegetables. In-home exercises like using a yoga app or YouTube videos as well as exercises using your body weight can be helpful to get cardio workout while being restricted to your home.

Step 3- Getting noise cancelling headphones is a good investment at this time. It can make your life a lot easier to cancel the noise if you’re stuck in your apartment or you’re at home and your sibling and/or parents are constantly knocking at your door. It helps improve focus. 

A small positive to cancellation of classes is that you’re not bound to a schedule. And are free to do your work at your own pace. Video-chatting with friends at a scheduled time over Face-time or Zoom will give a sense of social connection in this time of social distancing due to COVID-19. In the coming days I will post about building a mindfulness practice as well as the benefit of taking breaks while studying, as millions of college students across the US and world over cope with the corona virus pandemic and class cancellation. Stay tuned!

I am currently seeing patients via video, if you would like to make an appointment please call (480) 838-4300 or email at [email protected].

Gurjot Marwah