Teenagers in Kovit Isolation: ‘I felt like suffocation’

The activities that the youth had previously relied on for stability and happiness were disrupted. Independent clubs and birthday parties are often canceled. As it is Rituals of the passage Such as prom and return home. Students look at the vast majority of their weeks on zoom screens. Without school events and traditions to look forward to, many say they find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning.

Sophomore, 15, of High School in Rye, a suburb north of New York City, said: “Everything is stagnant now, and its school is now mixed with direct and distance learning. “There is nothing to look forward to. On virtual days I sit at the computer for three hours, have lunch, walk around a bit, sit for three hours and finish my day. This is only a cycle. “

Aidan identifies as a serious “drama child” and was looking forward to his school drama and science Olympiad. With those now out of the question, he inspired a recent online meeting for student leadership. It was depressing because he had trouble engaging in zoom conversation.

“I stopped my camera and waited until it was over,” he said. “It’s sad and somewhat lonely.” He added that it is almost impossible to make new contacts with classmates in the virtual setting: “If you do not try very hard, there is no chance of making new friends this year.”

This loneliness is especially challenging for young people struggling with chronic anxiety or depression and generally relying on their social circles for comfort. Nicole Timayo, who recently turned 19, has been developing techniques to manage her anxiety for years. She talks to friends, hugs her mom, exercises, and reads books – her family calls her Princess Belle as the “Beauty and the Beast” protagonist. But in the early months of the epidemic nothing seemed to work.

Nicole’s mother fell ill with Kovit at the end of March after caring for a patient with the corona virus at Connie Island Hospital, where she works as a nurse. Nicole became his mother’s caregiver and his family. She used to get up at 5am everyday to clean the house, take care of her sister and cook protein-rich food, she deposited it outside her mother’s bedroom door, squeezing in school chores. His mother did not want him to be airtight if his lungs failed, so every time he went to the emergency room for treatment, Nicole feared he would never come back.