Anxiety in Teens
More teenagers today have anxiety than any generation of teenagers in the past. In an article I recently read called, "How Big of a Problem is Anxiety?," the author states that the average high school student today has the same level of anxiety as an average psychiatric patient in the 1950's. Because this article was written in 2008, it is possible that anxiety levels have increased since then. I suspect that they have.
At school, it is impossible to miss the anxious aura that most of the students in my classes let off. In HISP, the workload leaves many of us stressed all the time. I am so constantly stressed that I often worry when I do not fell stressed. Such stress gives me a constant sense of anxiety that I can't seem to shake during the school year. Even while writing this, I feel a tiny bit anxious. Though school definitely contributes to the overall anxiety that teenagers feel, there are other societal factors that leave many teens to feel stressed, anxious, and unsatisfied.
The main factor that leads to anxiety in teens is our societal emphasis on material goods. The media makes us believe that we need the newest iPhone, a fancy home, or ridiculously overpriced trendy clothing to feel satisfied. But the average teenager cannot afford to have all of these things. And somehow, even if we do have an excess of material goods, we still feel unhappy because objects can never fulfill anyone's true purpose in life. Consumerism makes teenagers believe that they need to have the best things in order to obtain a higher status in society, making teens constantly anxious about acquiring these items in order to maintain a better outward appearance.
Another article I read also touched on the fact that out society no longer emphasizes community engagement or religious involvement, two things that gave people a support system as well as an identity in the past. Instead, we are now all so focused on ourselves and individual goals such as earning money and raising our status. Because of these goals, we tend to distance ourselves from others and focus too much on the future. Focusing on the future leads to constant anxiety about the unknown. Then, if we do not achieve our goals, we lack a support system to fall back on when we need emotional encouragement. In this way, many teens and adults end up stuck in a constant state of anxiety regarding the future and feel depressed when out plans fall through because we have less support than generations of the past.
I think that the state of mental health in teenagers today indicates a larger societal problem. It cannot be the fault of teenagers that so many of us have anxiety, depression, or both. Something must be done to combat the worsening mental health that teenagers face in our society. I believe that the first step in doing so is reducing the emphasis on consumerism and individualism in the media, a feat that will not be at all easy to accomplish.
At school, it is impossible to miss the anxious aura that most of the students in my classes let off. In HISP, the workload leaves many of us stressed all the time. I am so constantly stressed that I often worry when I do not fell stressed. Such stress gives me a constant sense of anxiety that I can't seem to shake during the school year. Even while writing this, I feel a tiny bit anxious. Though school definitely contributes to the overall anxiety that teenagers feel, there are other societal factors that leave many teens to feel stressed, anxious, and unsatisfied.
The main factor that leads to anxiety in teens is our societal emphasis on material goods. The media makes us believe that we need the newest iPhone, a fancy home, or ridiculously overpriced trendy clothing to feel satisfied. But the average teenager cannot afford to have all of these things. And somehow, even if we do have an excess of material goods, we still feel unhappy because objects can never fulfill anyone's true purpose in life. Consumerism makes teenagers believe that they need to have the best things in order to obtain a higher status in society, making teens constantly anxious about acquiring these items in order to maintain a better outward appearance.
Another article I read also touched on the fact that out society no longer emphasizes community engagement or religious involvement, two things that gave people a support system as well as an identity in the past. Instead, we are now all so focused on ourselves and individual goals such as earning money and raising our status. Because of these goals, we tend to distance ourselves from others and focus too much on the future. Focusing on the future leads to constant anxiety about the unknown. Then, if we do not achieve our goals, we lack a support system to fall back on when we need emotional encouragement. In this way, many teens and adults end up stuck in a constant state of anxiety regarding the future and feel depressed when out plans fall through because we have less support than generations of the past.
I think that the state of mental health in teenagers today indicates a larger societal problem. It cannot be the fault of teenagers that so many of us have anxiety, depression, or both. Something must be done to combat the worsening mental health that teenagers face in our society. I believe that the first step in doing so is reducing the emphasis on consumerism and individualism in the media, a feat that will not be at all easy to accomplish.
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