The world is facing a mental health crisis. Teens and young adults are more depressed, suicidal, anxious, and lonely than ever before.
Depression rates among teens have been on the rise since the early 2000s. A 2018 national survey found that 13.3 percent of American teens experienced a major depressive episode in the past year.
But it’s not just teens – young adults are suffering too. In a 2016 international survey of university counseling centres, 50 percent of university students sought help for feelings of anxiety and 41 percent for depression. The suicide rate is also increasing. The number of teenage girls who died by suicide in the US nearly doubled between 2000 and 2015.
The mental health statistics for Canadian youth are similarly grim. In 2003, 24 per cent of Canadians aged 15–30 self-reported that their mental health was either fair or poor (compared to very good or excellent). By 2019, this number had increased to 40 percent. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the mental health of Canadian youth. In 2020, 58 per cent of Canadians aged 15-24 reported fair or poor mental health and one in four for children and youth aged 5-24 were in hospital due to a mental health condition. What has changed in the last decade to explain this rise in poor mental health among young people? Some psychologists point to the recent cultural emphasis on security as a contributor.
Why is poor mental health on the rise among young people?
Here are some major reasons:
child protection changes
In previous decades, American and Canadian children enjoyed more freedom, even as crime rates were rising. The crime wave in Canada grew rapidly from the 60s to the 80s, until it peaked in the early 1990s. Cable TV became widespread during this same period, meaning that news of crimes spread more quickly than ever before. This growth spurred safety initiatives such as the sharing of photos of missing children on milk cartons and crime shows such as America’s Most Wanted. It’s no wonder that parents became increasingly fearful and protective.
Crime rates began to decline in the 1990s, but the fear among parents remained. This is where the problem of being over-cautious begins. The concept of safety began to extend beyond the physical safety of children to emotional and psychological comfort. This deprived children of the experiences they needed to learn and grow.
Parental over-protection has been shown to promote unhealthy coping mechanisms in children. Overprotected children are more likely to both internalize problems (in the form of anxiety and depression) and externalize them (in the form of delinquency, disobedience or substance abuse). Some psychologists propose that overprotection, which they call “protectionism,” teaches children negative thought patterns similar to those of anxious and depressed people. Protectionism may place a high priority on a young person’s safety to the exclusion of other practical and ethical concerns. Avoiding problems is natural, but avoiding things that cause us discomfort can reinforce the belief that we can’t handle certain issues and make us less capable over time.
unhelpful thought patterns
Here are three unhealthy thought patterns to watch out for in yourself and your children:
Recognize negative filtering. Don’t underestimate the positives of experiences such as dysfunctional play (happiness, independence, problem-solving, risk assessment, resilience) when considering the potential negative consequences.
Be aware of double entender thinking. Don’t fall into the good or bad trap. There is a world of possibility between one or the other. Treating people, ideas, places or situations as either good or bad (but never both or somewhere in between) promotes a polarizing ‘us versus them’ attitude and eliminates nuance.
Recognize emotional reasoning. Feeling “insecure” (uncomfortable or anxious) doesn’t mean you’re actually physically insecure. If you avoid all kinds of stressors, you will never learn how to handle stressors or realize your full potential. Avoiding obstacles can make us think that we are weaker or more fragile than we are.
Portraying the world as a place full of dangers at every turn has created anxious youths who avoid activities they may have previously experimented with. Rising rates of loneliness and anxiety mean some young people are finding it difficult to hold a job, drive a car, have sex, drink and date. Research supports that overprotective parenting (such as ‘helicopter parenting’) undermines adolescents’ well-being, motivation, independence and ability to deal with problems in healthy ways.
Generational trends show that across all social and economic demographics, American teens are putting off activities they consider to be ‘adults’ and do not crave adult independence as much as previous generations. They spend less time without parental supervision because they are worried about what is happening in the world, and they feel that they cannot handle it. They don’t date or have sex because they are worried about broken hearts, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections. They don’t drink because they are worried about making mistakes while intoxicated and what people will think of them later. They don’t drive as they are happy to rely on their parents for transportation.
While some of these are reasonable consequences to avoid, they should not be so overwhelming that they prevent youth from transitioning into adulthood. Broken hearts teach you what you want in a romantic partner, young people can be taught about safe sex, alcohol can be consumed in moderation, and mistakes are healthy, human, and normal. Teens shouldn’t be so intimidated by life that they no longer feel excited to live it. Without opportunities to explore and learn from their limits, youth risk internalizing a false sense of helplessness and becoming depressed and anxious.
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Solution: Develop Helpful Thought Patterns
One should develop a positive thought pattern within himself. It means giving yourself, your teen, and your children the opportunities they need to become independent, resilient, and autonomous. And that means embracing negative experiences like frustration, conflict, and boredom.
Here are some words of advice:
1. Pay attention to your mind. Your thoughts are powerful. They dictate how you view the world, others, and yourself, so promote positive, rational thought patterns.
2. Raise your voice. Encourage curiosity and productive disagreement. If we don’t challenge our own beliefs, listen to others’ perspectives, and recognize our ability to be wrong, we’ll never learn to be open-minded or well-rounded people. Every aspect of our lives, including our relationships and jobs, depends on our ability to argue in an effective, respectful, and productive manner without becoming overly emotional.
3. Open your heart. Try to give others the benefit of the doubt as most people do not intend to harm. Don’t let fear rule your thoughts and actions.
4. Believe in yourself. Life will always throw curve balls and deferment won’t always be right. Life is not safe or risk free. The best defense is the knowledge that you can face life’s challenges.
(by Simon Sherry, Dalhousie University)