When a person thinks about mental health, the issues that come with it have always been around, but they seemed to come to light here, recently. Then, you add in a pandemic, to where you are secluded, you must wear a mask when you are not in your room, and life as you know it has been put on hold. Alex Liosatos has agreed to give her point of view on how life and mental health have been for the students in this time of uncertainty.  

“I do notice that 80% of the students that we see here at Lakeland have brought up COVID-19 as a big stressor. It seems to go along the lines of the national survey on how this pandemic is a big stressor to most – a stressor that is affecting the population,” Liosatos said. 

This semester seems to be making a big difference for all of us due to something we would never think we would come across in our lifetime.  

Liosatos said, “I have also been keeping in contact with those who are in quarantine for more than a few days.”  

This means that if students are not able to go to her, she virtually goes to check on them and see how they are doing. Mental health has become such a crisis and adding a pandemic and the seclusion that comes with it means needing an outlet is crucial.  

And if you wonder if there are any events going on that is involved where mental health is concerned, Alex responded, “We always do programming. I am infusing the pandemic into the presentations that I do. We have added online yoga, and meditations. We are doing our usual programming, and some of the events we do have gone virtual.”  

At Lakeland, we have this thanks to the counseling and nursing staff we have on campus.