Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health

Kyle Hapuarachchi, Verrazzano Class of 2023, completed major in Biology Health Science Science 

When thinking about my capstone, I knew I wanted to work with Psychology and how the mental health in the U.S. differs to the mental health of third world countries. With some adaptation and the help of my mentor Professor Sukhram, we came up with the idea of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of both college students and frontline healthcare workers (FHCWs).

My purpose in doing this research was to ensure that the mental health issues that arose during the pandemic would be mitigated in the case of another mental health crisis.

In order to do this narrative review in a structured way, I looked at four different studies. Two of the studies dealt with CUNY students that had mental health issues, while the other two studies were about frontline healthcare workers and their struggles with mental health during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

I think recognizing the areas that make for poor mental health is important to understand. As a CUNY student and someone who wants to work in the healthcare field, it is important to understand the potential mental health crises I may be working in.

With the help of Professor Sukhram and the Writing Center, I was able to write an insightful narrative review that explained the importance of looking at mental health issues due to COVID-19. My mentor assisted me with similar peer-reviewed articles to read since I had been unsure on what to do and how to format my paper. This allowed me to get used to another version of writing reports; it was a completely new ballgame. Understanding the difference between facts and opinion was something that I had to get accustomed to. 

Overall, working on this project showed me that although things are tough in the beginning there is a light at the end of the tunnel in which you will find success.