Southwestern Michigan College hosts psychology panel on the effects of COVID-19 on mental health, led by SWC student and faculty

As president of both the Psychology Club and Psi Beta (a national honor society) at Southwestern Michigan College, Virginia Martynowicz helped to organize and moderate a recent panel discussion held on Zoom about the mental strain of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Calling on faculty and other experts for assistance and expertise, the panel discussed the impacts of long-term isolation and how it is affecting mental health, education, and emotional ties in communities.

A news release from SMC recounted some of the issues discussed on the panel, which brought together Heather Zile, Melissa Brewster, Dr. Dennis Rodriguez, and students, under the moderation of Martynowicz and Assistant Psychology Professor Christy Tidd. The group talked about how people get through times like these. As Tidd explained, "Even when there's nothing else, we always have hope. If we skip through life with rainbows and butterflies and nothing but sunshine along our path, we lose an opportunity. It is only when we meet challenges that we gain resiliency. This has been an opportunity many of us will possibly never see again. It forced us to slow down and threw time in our laps. In psychology you learn about the mind-body connection. Our thoughts and feelings affect us physically. There is good in every day. Focus on three things that went well and your mind will rewire itself."

Dr. Rodriguez, psychology professor at Indiana University South Bend, spoke about how communities have faced the challenges of living through a pandemic. "We have collectively risen to the challenge of the uncertainty we've been dealing with this past year and have proven to ourselves and to others that the situation sucks, but we are going to come together and make the best of it," he said.

Meanwhile, Brewster, a mental health counselor and addiction behavior consultant, spoke about the challenges many parents are facing at home, "I hear from parents that they're struggling because things have changed so much. They don't know how math is done, then have to become the teachers." She went on to add, "The fear of the unknown, what the future holds, is such a huge question. Trying to normalize and validate feelings and thoughts. We're all in this together. Nobody is not experiencing some kind of difficulty. Your home and work lives are not separate with your office in the basement or a bedroom, but I've seen a lot of families come together."

Director of Community and Educational Partnerships at SMC, Heather Zile, shared some of her personal experiences of juggling family and work during the pandemic along with observations of incoming students. Zile said, "I'm navigating this new way of learning in my own home with my children and as a professional working for an educational institution. One word comes to mind during and after a pandemic — uncertainty. In enrollment, they're pausing more than normal and considering doing things that maybe they hadn't a year ago, even though the need for an educated workforce is not going to change. We're building new infrastructures that are more innovative than had been considered. Instead of returning to normal, we're developing a new normal. While there's uncertainty, students give greater consideration for the decisions they make. They're taking more personal ownership for their journey. That's a good thing."