The Overlooked Population: Mental Health Crisis of Brittany Students Post-COVID

Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash.

Alone, isolated from friends, struggling with finances, and constantly worried about his loved ones back at home, Abdul spent days in bed, sleeping through online classes and not communicating with anyone. 

A student at IMT Atlantique in Brittany, France, Abdul lost more than fun nights out with friends and in-person lectures when the pandemic forced the city into lockdown. 

"It was difficult to live another day at that time."

More than two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the devastating ripples reach far beyond the six million deaths. 

Bringing students into the light

Though we often think of immunocompromised or elderly people when we consider those who are at the highest risk for serious illness due to COVID-19, the student population has faced serious attacks on their way of life, especially concerning mental health.

While a very personal phenomenon, mental health is greatly influenced by the state of the world; the prevalence of mental disorders is closely related to social, economic and cultural conditions. In a time where mental health issues are being compounded by the state of the pandemic-world, the emotional toll of isolation, professional and financial problems, lack of housing, and limited resources, a mental health crisis is almost expected. 

However, during the global pandemic, public health experienced a universal shift towards a global focus, often neglecting local issues, notably mental health prevention and care for subpopulations like Brittany, France’s heavy student population. University students are in the developmental stages of their lives, and there is an urgent need for discourse in regards to COVID’s impact on the age group's collective consciousness.

Mental health concerns

In Brittany, France’s northwesternmost region known for its large student population, there was a mental health concern even before COVID. The region is known for having the highest rate of suicides in France, with 25 suicides for every 100,000 inhabitants, according to Santé Publique France.

Although students generally face a low risk of severe physical harm from the virus, they are considered a high-risk group for mental health issues. According to the DSM-IV criteria, half of all students fit the criteria of at least one psychiatric disorder. Furthermore, a study conducted by scientists from INSERM and Bordeaux University found that the percentage of students experiencing depressive symptoms increased from 36% during the first lockdown in March 2020 to 50% during the second lockdown that started in November. 

Impact of housing shortage

Another factor that made Brittany students’ mental health especially vulnerable during the pandemic was the existing student housing crisis. A growing problem, the lack of housing is caused by an abundance of students pursuing higher education clashing with limited housing availability. In Brittany, 13% of housing is owned by wealthy second-home buyers, leaving lower-income residents, such as students, struggling to find localized housing. With the rise of students going to the university in their home region in order to stay close to their families and hopefully save money in such financially unstable times, it has become essentially impossible to secure suitable accommodations. 

Denise Dannenberg listed a room for rent in her apartment in Rennes in 2020, attempting to aid the abundance of students in search of housing. She received hundreds of applications.

“I had so many students come crying to me when I told them that I already rented the room out to someone else,” said Dannenberg.

“I had friends’ children begging me to let them stay and random applicants emailing me, desperate to stay only for a few nights so that they could at least have a place to sleep while they continued to search. It was heartbreaking.” 

With a majority of students also working part-time jobs, they were among the first to lose their livelihood due to pandemic conditions. Zviad, a student at Rennes II University, had a job building sets at a local theater to support himself and his son, Lazare. However, with the shut-down of the theaters due to the restrictions, his job essentially disappeared.

Alcohol use during the pandemic

Alcohol misuse is a mental health disorder also highly prevalent among young people, especially college students. A study by BMC Public Health found that 65% of French university students partake in the dangerous cycle of binge drinking. 

Nathanael Seroussi, a clinical psychologist who specializes in addictology, noticed a growing issue of substance abuse in the wake of the pandemic. Especially considering various coping strategies (travel, leisure activities, etc.) were limited due to the health policy restrictions, many people turned to unhealthy, self-destructive coping mechanisms, such as alcohol abuse. 

After the release from the nation-wide isolation in May of 2020, there was “an increase in anxiety and mood disorders, as well as an increase in consumption often linked to an increased intra-family conflict, accompanied by increased intra-psychological distress,” said Seroussi. 

Social isolation concerns

The trend of increasing addiction and thus mental health decay seemed to disproportionately affect the student-aged population, with an increase in the demand for psychological consultation from a younger population (between 20 and 35 years old) than the usual demographic (between 40 and 55 years old), according to Seroussi.  

Social isolation is already a factor in mental health problems amongst college students, and the impact of isolation left some students feeling deprived of social support, with no one to turn to. In addition to an increase in student anxiety levels, Seroussi reported “an increase in the feeling of loneliness among patients already socially isolated, in contrast with people who had a richer social environment beforehand.” 

While dealing with the new crises and struggles brought about by the pandemic, academia became a secondary priority to simply trying to survive for many of Brittany’s most vulnerable students. The effects of these universally trying times on the lives and mental health of students will be enduring. 

“With the low grades I obtained during COVID, it was so difficult finding an opportunity for my PhD,” said Abdul. “I thought my future plans were going to be impossible because of this year which was already one of the hardest years of my life.”

A need for local solutions

Though it was necessary to turn the global eye toward this public health crisis, Brittany shows it can be vital to find localized solutions to global threats such as pandemics. Abdul received small government stipends and some free counseling at his university but said it couldn't alleviate his trauma and circumstances. Solutions such as these are small band-aids that do not quell the overwhelming prevalence of the serious mental health crisis amongst students. In times of global crisis, robust and sustainable forms of mental health prevention and care are more important than ever.