Teens in Covid Isolation 受疫情隔離影響的青少年

埃瑪·戈德堡/文 曲磊/譯

Before the pandemic， Aya Rajis days were jam-packed. She woke up at 6：30 a.m. and took the subway to school. At night， she practiced kick-flips with her skateboarding club and hosted “Twilight” movie nights for friends.

Once her school in Brooklyn turned to remote learning， the days grew long and lonely. She couldnt sleep， up until 4 a.m.， her mind racing with anxiety.

“I felt like I was trapped in my own little house and everyone was far away，” Aya， 14， said. “When youre with friends， youre completely distracted and you dont think about the bad stuff going on. During the beginning of quarantine， I was so alone.”

The social isolation of the pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of many Americans. But the impact has been especially severe on teenagers.

Research shows that adolescents depend on their friendships to maintain a sense of self-worth and to manage anxiety and depression. A recent study of 3，300 high school students found that nearly one-third reported feeling unhappy or depressed in recent months. And while it might seem counterintuitive for a generation used to bonding with friends via texts， TikTok， Snapchat and Instagram， more than a quarter of those students said they did not feel connected to teachers， classmates or their school community.

The proportion of childrens emergency room visits related to mental health has increased significantly during the pandemic， highlighting concerns about the psychological effects that lockdowns and social distancing have had on youth， according to an analysis released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Children were more likely to report mental health problems if they had a parent who lost work or personally knew someone infected with coronavirus.

Granted， for some students， the beginning of quarantine brought a measure of relief. They no longer had cliques to impress or bullies to ward off. But that “honeymoon phase” passed quickly， according to Dr. Cora Breuner， a pediatrician. As stressful as adolescent relationships can be， they are also essential for the formation of personal identity.

An important part of teenage development is the realization that peers， not just parents， can be a source of emotional support. The twin crises of the pandemic and the economic downturn have imposed new personal hardships on students. Some are taking care of family members who have fallen sick with Covid-19; others have been thrust into dealing with their parents unemployment or financial strain. Being holed up at home makes it tough to lean on friends.

When school turned remote last spring， Catherine Khella， a health teacher in Brooklyn， asked her students to keep journals， which she read for signs of mental distress. Many were struggling but hesitant to reach out. One student wrote about feeling unmotivated to do schoolwork， getting frustrated with family members and experiencing emotions “l(fā)ike no other I have ever felt.”

The activities that young people previously relied on for stability and joy have been disrupted. Extracurricular clubs and birthday parties are mostly canceled. So are rites of passage like prom and homecoming. Students spend vast portions of their weeks staring at Zoom screens. Without school events and traditions to anticipate， many say they are struggling to get out of bed in the morning.

The isolation has been particularly challenging for young adults who struggle with chronic anxiety or depression， and who would typically rely on their social circles for comfort. Nicole DiMaio， who recently turned 19， developed techniques to manage her anxiety over the years. She talks to friends， hugs her mom， exercises and reads books. But nothing seemed to work during the early months of the pandemic.

Nicoles mother fell sick with Covid in late March after caring for a patient with coronavirus at Coney Island Hospital， where she works as a nurse. Nicole became her mothers caretaker， and her familys. She woke up daily at 5 a.m. to clean the house， watch over her younger sister and cook protein-rich foods， which she deposited outside her mothers bedroom door， while squeezing in schoolwork. Her mother did not want to be ventilated if her lungs failed， so each time she went to the emergency room seeking treatment， Nicole feared she might never come back.

Normally， Nicole would turn to her friends. But she couldnt see them in person， so instead she had to vent to them on Instagram and Snapchat. “Being 18 and taking it all in is a lot，” she said.

Researchers have begun investigating how todays high school students will bear the long-term consequences of the pandemic， in terms of their education and economic futures. Some psychologists speculate that socially， too， this young adult cohort could be stunted by the amount of time they have been forced to spend alone.

“Learning how to navigate the inner webs of relationships happens in high school，” said Dr. Jessi Gold， a psychiatrist at Washington University in St. Louis. “When you retreat behind a computer， you lose some of those social skills.”

High school counselors and teenagers are exploring a few creative coping strategies. Nandini Ahuja， a social worker at Leadership and Public Service High School in New York， asked her students to write letters to someone or something they are grieving， whether a family member or a concept like senior prom.

Teenagers said the opportunity to confide in their teachers and school counselors has been essential， particularly because their parents might be more likely to dismiss mental health symptoms as standard adolescent mood swings.

As the months wear on， Aya is rebuilding healthy habits—spending time with friends outside， getting to sleep at a reasonable hour so she can feel energized for school. She has started meditating and listening to indie rock songs to calm her nerves. But she still wrestles with the amount of time she spends alone in her thoughts.

“Being in another persons presence makes you feel OK，” she said. “When I cant see my friends， I feel like the world is caving in.”

在新冠疫情暴發(fā)之前，阿雅·拉吉的生活忙碌而又充實。她每天早上6：30準(zhǔn)時起床，乘地鐵去上學(xué);晚上則到滑板俱樂部練習(xí)腳尖翻板技術(shù)，并邀請朋友們一起觀看《暮光之城》系列電影。

自從她在紐約市布魯克林區(qū)的學(xué)校轉(zhuǎn)為線上授課之后，日子對阿雅來說便變得漫長而又孤獨。直到凌晨4點她都睡不著，滿腦子焦慮。

14歲的阿雅說：“我感覺被困在了自己的小屋里，所有人都離得很遠(yuǎn)。與朋友們在一起的時候，注意力完全被分散，不會去想發(fā)生了什么糟糕的事情。剛開始隔離時，我感到非常孤獨。”

因疫情而實施的社交隔離已經(jīng)對很多美國人的心理健康產(chǎn)生了負(fù)面影響。而這種影響對青少年尤為嚴(yán)重。

有研究表明，青少年依賴朋友來保持自我價值感，來應(yīng)對焦慮和抑郁。近期一項針對3300名高中生的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，其中近三分之一的學(xué)生最近數(shù)月感到不快樂或沮喪。這些學(xué)生中有超過四分之一反映感到自己與老師、同學(xué)及學(xué)?！笆?lián)了”——習(xí)慣于依靠短信、TikTok、色拉布和照片墻與朋友保持聯(lián)系的一代人有這種感覺，可能有些不可思議。

美國疾控中心發(fā)布的一份分析報告指出，疫情期間因心理健康問題前往醫(yī)院兒童急診室就診的人數(shù)比例顯著上升，這凸現(xiàn)了人們的擔(dān)憂——擔(dān)心實施疫情封鎖和保持社交距離對青少年心理產(chǎn)生負(fù)面影響。

有家長失業(yè)或有熟人感染新冠的兒童更可能出現(xiàn)心理健康問題。

誠然，對一部分學(xué)生來說，隔離初期他們多少感到如釋重負(fù)。他們無需再去迎合各種校園小幫派，或者躲避各種校園欺凌。然而用兒科醫(yī)生科拉·布羅伊納的話說，這段“興奮的快樂日子”很快便過去了。青少年的人際關(guān)系可能給他們帶來了壓力，但同時也對他們形成自我認(rèn)同至關(guān)重要。

青少年成長中的重要一環(huán)就是認(rèn)識到，不僅父母，同齡人也能為自己提供情感支持。疫情和經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退的雙重危機(jī)給學(xué)生們的個人生活帶來了新的困難。有些學(xué)生要照顧感染新冠的家人;有些則不得不面對雙親失業(yè)或家庭經(jīng)濟(jì)拮據(jù)的困境。而居家隔離讓他們難以從朋友那里獲得支持。

去年春天學(xué)校開始采用線上授課時，布魯克林區(qū)的一位心理健康教師凱瑟琳·赫拉要求她的學(xué)生寫日記，她想從中發(fā)現(xiàn)學(xué)生心理焦慮的跡象。很多學(xué)生飽受焦慮折磨卻不愿尋求幫助。一名學(xué)生在日記中提到自己缺乏寫作業(yè)的動力，與家人的關(guān)系不融洽，并且經(jīng)歷著“從未有過的”情緒波動。

以前那些能幫助年輕人保持穩(wěn)定、給他們帶來快樂的活動都暫停了。課外俱樂部和生日聚會大多取消了。畢業(yè)舞會和校友返校節(jié)之類的慶?；顒右捕纪＾k了。學(xué)生們一周的大部分時間都是盯著云視頻屏幕上網(wǎng)課。由于不需要像以往那樣去學(xué)校參加各種例行活動，很多學(xué)生承認(rèn)他們早上都賴床不起。

對那些飽受長期焦慮或抑郁煎熬以及那些通常依靠社交圈來尋求安慰的年輕人來說，居家隔離尤其難熬。剛過完19歲生日的妮科爾·迪馬約這幾年自己摸索出了一套應(yīng)對焦慮的方法。她會與朋友談心，擁抱母親，鍛煉和閱讀。但是，這些方法在疫情最初的幾個月似乎毫無作用。

妮科爾的母親在康尼島醫(yī)院當(dāng)護(hù)士，3月底因照顧一名新冠患者而感染了新冠。妮科爾于是承擔(dān)起照顧母親和全家的重?fù)?dān)。她每天早上5點起床收拾屋子，照顧妹妹，烹制富含蛋白質(zhì)的餐食，把做好的飯放在母親臥室的門外，同時還要擠出時間完成作業(yè)。母親出現(xiàn)呼吸衰竭時不想上呼吸機(jī)，所以每次母親去急診室接受治療，妮科爾都擔(dān)心母親可能一去不返。

妮科爾通常會向朋友尋助。但是現(xiàn)在她無法與朋友見面，所以只能登陸照片墻和色拉布向他們吐露心聲。她說：“18歲就要承擔(dān)這一切太難了。”

研究人員已經(jīng)開始研究今天的高中生在教育和經(jīng)濟(jì)前景方面將如何承受疫情帶來的長期影響。一些心理學(xué)家認(rèn)為，在社交方面，被迫長時間獨處也可能對剛剛成年的這一年輕群體的社交產(chǎn)生妨礙。

圣路易斯華盛頓大學(xué)精神病學(xué)家杰西·戈爾德博士說：“高中階段要學(xué)會處理內(nèi)部人際關(guān)系。如果一直待在電腦屏幕前，便無法掌握某些社交技能?！?/p>

高中輔導(dǎo)員和青少年們正在嘗試一些有創(chuàng)意的應(yīng)對策略。紐約領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力和公共服務(wù)高中的社工南迪妮·阿胡賈要求學(xué)生給某人寫信或把他們感到悲傷的事物寫出來，可以寫給家人，也可以描寫類似高中畢業(yè)舞會的主題。

青少年們認(rèn)為，向老師或?qū)W校輔導(dǎo)員吐露心聲的機(jī)會對他們而言非常重要，特別是因為父母可能更容易把他們的心理健康癥狀僅僅看作一般的青春期情緒波動。

幾個月過去了，阿雅正在恢復(fù)健康的生活習(xí)慣：與朋友外出，該睡覺時就睡覺，這樣就能精神抖擻地上課學(xué)習(xí)。她開始練習(xí)冥想和欣賞獨立搖滾歌曲，讓自己放松。然而，她內(nèi)心依然為長時間獨處糾結(jié)不安。

她說：“有朋友陪伴身邊，我會感到一切都好; 看不到朋友，我就覺得整個世界都要塌了?！?/p>