Tag: schools

No, masks don’t cause depression or suicide…damnit

Sigh. I can’t believe I have to write this, but yeah, I do.

Alright, some background. Many schools in the Lehigh Valley – my region – are choosing to act like grown-ups and require that kids go to schools with masks. This is, of course, stirring up passionate feelings in a small but vocal minority of people. They are using a variety of arguments…masking hurts breathing (what?), it’s bad for kids in general (no), or that it causes depression, suicide, and self-harm. Yes, that’s right.

From an Easton Area School Board meeting, where this issue was being discussed:

Of course, this belief is…what’s the word I am looking for…oh, right, it has no bearing in reality.

Let’s review the facts. A September 2020 study found that face masks are effective against contracting COVID-19, and that this directly led to IMPROVED mental health. A variety of theories have been put forward about why face masks can cause depression, but unless I am missing something, no factual evidence has pointed to masks leading to depression.

I don’t want to make it sound like there aren’t potential issues: There are. Masks can cause kids a stress response and make them more afraid of going out. Of course…that may also be attributable to the global, deadly pandemic that has killed millions. Others have also noted that this may hurt a kids’ ability to read faces and social cues. Again, I think that makes sense. Of course, we’re dealing in a world where there are no good decisions, just slightly less bad ones, and a delayed ability to read facial expressions is probably preferable to getting COVID.

Now, you know what can cause mental health harm?

Keeping kids out of school: A slew of studies has made it clear that an overreliance on digital media can damage a kids’ mental health, intellectual ability, and real-life friendships. Of course, digital school is better than none at all, but there is no question about it: Keeping kids in school is the best possible option for their mental health. And on that front, the evidence is clear: Masks in school can slow the spread of COVID and keep kids in school.

Taking a science-based approach to COVID that involves vaccination and universal masking is the best way to keep kids healthy, safe, and in school

I don’t know a single person on earth who is excited about masking. I don’t know anyone who thinks, “YAY I WANNA PUT A CLOTH ON OVER MY FACE.” I certainly don’t. Masks are annoying. But they keep me safe, and they keep others around me safe. I’ll happily slap one over my ugly mug if it means keeping others safe, and I’ll even cover up the beautiful faces of my children if it means keeping others around them healthy.

This is a no-brainer. It’s an easy decision. And anyone who argues otherwise has agendas that are far different than they claim.

The debate about in-person vs. virtual school misses the point

As a parent – and as a policy-maker – it seems as if everything we do these days is related to COVID. How will we recover? How can we ensure that everyone is getting the vaccine who deserves it? How can we deal with the devastating economic and unemployment effects? How soon can we (safely) get kids back into school?

Of course, the mental health impacts of COVID are damning as well, and much of that blame – at least for our kids – has been thrown at the feet of virtual learning. There is a lot of truth in that, of course. Evidence is clear that the mental health of our kids are, on the whole, suffering, with a rise noted in self-reported rates of depression and visits to the emergency room. Some are quick to cite the idea that this is a direct result of the fact that millions of kids are in some sort of virtual learning environment now, either full-time or on a hybrid schedule.

That being said, I really, truly believe that much of this debate misses the point. Why? Because – even for kids who are in school – they’re not getting their usual experience.

If you are in the real world in any capacity, you know it: Everything is different. Wear your mask. Wash your hands. STAY MORE THAN SIX FEET AWAY FROM ME. And if you are someone who was prone to anxiety, you are nervous every time you go out, because you can, quite literally, contract a deadly disease at any moment.

Okay, fine. Now, take all those fears and all those changes, and apply them to school. What do you get? A recipe for disaster. Take this article from Wisconsin Public Radio that details the struggles of kids in the pandemic. It notes, correctly, that zoom school makes it harder for kids to get the help they need and limits social interactions and the desperately needed personal connections. But, it also notes that in-person school is not a panacea:

With the broad disruption wrought by COVID-19, though, simply bringing students back into classrooms doesn’t resolve their mental health concerns.

In the Lake Mills district, where Kisten [a school psychologist] works, students have been mostly attending school in person since the start of the year.

“There’s a lot of grief right now, but the students don’t really have the right words to express that, or they don’t even know what it is that they’re feeling,” she said.

Other evidence has buttressed this point: Kids’ mental health is suffering regardless of where they are in school.

I don’t want to miss the point: Zoom and electronic learning is a cause for mental illness. There’s no question about it. However, even among those who are in school, things aren’t normal. And this is hurting the mental health of our kids.

The debate about whether or not kids should be in school or virtual misses the point entirely. We should be concentrating on SAFELY getting all of our kids back into school, then providing them with the mental health supports that they need in order to thrive. Even kids who are in school are reporting difficulties right now. Real-life or virtual, they’re in pain.