2020 seems to have done nothing but throw a bunch of curveballs at us. From wildfires to racial justice issues to a global pandemic, we just can't seem to catch a break this year. Many things this year; especially the pandemic, have caused many feelings of fear and uncertainty for the future. What else has all of this insanity caused? A huge rise in mental health issues in many parts of our society, especially our young adults. If anything, COVID-19 has only seemed to exacerbate the mental health issues many have, and cause new mental health issues in people who never had them to begin with. Yet, mental health is still not being talked about as much as it should be; and especially this year, these issues need to be talked about more than ever.

Unfortunately, when you mix a virus in with economic/job uncertainty, lockdowns, constant news about negative events in the world, and overall feelings of stress, you're creating a perfect storm for mental health issues to occur. For people with pre-existing mental health conditions, things that went from simple rain showers turned into hurricanes. Many of the things that people would normally do to cope with emotions; such as hanging out with friends or going to the gym, may not be great options for some people (sure some of these actions are becoming okay with restrictions, not everyone may still feel comfortable doing these things). We've had to re-assemble our daily routines a bit, some of us became essential workers while others became unemployed. However, many people still either can't afford mental health care, or have a hard time getting access to it. There's no doubt that this pandemic has caused major anxiety and depression issues, but why aren't things still being done about it?

A study from the CDC came out a month or two ago about mental health during the pandemic, and one of the statistics stated that about 25% of 18-24 year old's had "seriously considered suicide" during the past few months. 25% may seem small to some, but that was ¼ of the 18-24 sample. Imagine if it was every 18-24 year old that was surveyed, truthfully I bet the number would be higher. It's depressing to think that so many people have either considered taking their life, or actually took it during this time. It's not only suicides that are a concern, things like substance abuse and domestic abuse have been proven to be going up during this time too. Not only are people dying from COVID, but they are dying from the mental impacts it has left behind too. Yet, mental health is still being underfunded, and no one seems to want to mention the mental effects too. It's not to say that the deaths from the virus are not important; they are, but deaths from mental health issues should be looked at the same way as deaths from physical health issues are.

October 10th is World Mental Health Day, and this year I would hope that more people took the time to really research and think about how mental health really impacts us as a society. Thankfully, we can continue to raise awareness on these issues. Consider bringing up mental health funding to your local (and maybe even federal) government with petitions. Keep sharing mental health resources across social media, and fight for more affordable and accessible mental health care for everyone. This also includes helping end the stigma against mental health. Learn to be okay with talking about mental health, and encourage others to do the same. Mental Health is not a taboo topic, it's something serious that many people go through.

If anything, I would hope that one positive outcome of this pandemic would be that we would stop stigmatizing mental health and work towards better funding and programs for everyone. We can get there as a society, but to do that we need to be proactive about making people more aware of these effects. It's time that physical health and mental health be treated as equals. That time has been long overdue.