What is wrong with our kids these days?

[2021ismyyear]

So I live near a town that has a recent alarming number of teenage suicides. Mostly girls but there have been boys too. There seems to be a huge mental health crisis brewing. More and more are needing professional help. Schools are at a loss what to do. Parents are angry.

Parents are blaming social media, the schools, the teachers, the government.

One parent said that they had to remove their kids phone as there is peer pressure on social media with regards to suicide, becoming lgbtq, and going on anti depressants.

It’s just exploded here. Young people have lost it! I remember a few in my year with mental health issues (eating disorders, those that were abused etc) but it seems every teen has an issue at the moment. So severe in cases, that they are killing themselves.

What is this all about? How can we stop this?

@TowandaForever
It's scary that you believe that and work in mental health!
Why?

I agree with Gowalkabout too and I work with troubled teens. Once they get to the point where they need MH support the damage is done and whilst support can help, prevention is far better than cure.

MH difficulties don't just happen, all our struggling teens have suffered trauma of one kind or another, often multiple, usually things that could/should have been prevented.

Manic pixie, I don't know anyone over the age of 50 who voted for Brexit.

@vivainsomnia

The relentless positivity movement has pathologised normal, healthy downbeat emotions such as sadness, disappointment, regret, loss, loneliness, rejection and scooped them up into 'depression' that needs to be treated. But there's no treatment available This, this and this again.

There is indeed no treatment because it's normal emotions. Unpleasant but normal. We however are now bringing up kids to think that any unpleasant feelings are feelings to avoid at all cost, preferably by others making it all go away for us.

People are frustrated with their GP, their counsellor, psychologist because they just want them to come up with a solution when the only solution in most case is acceptance, patience and making our own changes to what we want changing.

Amazing posts.

I remember as a teen in the 90's before social media wanting to kill myself over just not being happy. At that age I remember mainly feeling the pressure of school and peer groups, I was still upset about parents divorce which was years before and took things to heart if someone from school said something negative about me like my weight or looks. I wasn't bullied I just wasn't happy with my life or who I was and envied other girls in my year. I think hormones played a massive part. I remember taking sleeping tablets but luckily woke up fine the next day. I felt all those insecurities just from being at school to add the pressure of social media and all these celebrities with the perfect face/body and also the increased pressure of school work which I think is alot worse now especially home learning and then having contact with peers 24 hours it's no wonder our teens are struggling. In fact society is struggling. We don't switch off, we are constantly aspiring to have perfection instead of being happy with who we are and what we have.

Oh, and all of this happened pre-lockdown so I think this general teen MH crisis was brewing regardless of that.

@Maggie3socks

Oh, and all of this happened pre-lockdown so I think this general teen MH crisis was brewing regardless of that.

Lockdown has massively increased the problem. Services say they have seen huge demand and they were already been beyond thinly stretched. Lockdown has made things far worse and I'm not expecting to see enough resources to create capacity to deal with it. Pre 2020 will be seen as the good old days

@vivainsomnia

The relentless positivity movement has pathologised normal, healthy downbeat emotions such as sadness, disappointment, regret, loss, loneliness, rejection and scooped them up into 'depression' that needs to be treated. But there's no treatment available

There is indeed no treatment because it's normal emotions. Unpleasant but normal. We however are now bringing up kids to think that any unpleasant feelings are feelings to avoid at all cost, preferably by others making it all go away for us

People are frustrated with their GP, their counsellor, psychologist because they just want them to come up with a solution when the only solution in most case is acceptance, patience and making our own changes to what we want changing

Spot on

There is a lack of resilience among some young people, possibly due to lack of boundaries and being raised in a child centred society. I certainly wouldn't advocate a return to children being 'seen and not heard' but they are centred from birth and here is nowhere to go as they grow older. They expect to continue to be the centre of everything and the bubble bursts when they reach adulthood.

I'm so sure we are a child centred society - just think how low down priorty list children and parents have been during pandemic.

I suspect it's like mental health lots of talk but that's it.

I wonder how much parental anxiety is stifling children- my own parents seem to teach learned helpnesses telling me I couldn't do things before I tried and reminding me of all my mistakes - and I think that was down to their anxiety issues. My IL were never like that with DH but can be with our children - looking for non existant problems they can't overcome.

Though we were watching John Oliver last night joking about under 35 in US not knowing what home onwership is - DD1 found that off putting - yet more relentless your generation is fucked stuff - it's around covid - the lost generation - climate change - your doomed. around money - it's very where really.

I agree with @vivainsomnia

Also thoughts on the BBC documentary about ultra processed foods? What they did to the 42-year-old man’s brain was actually frightening, so I dread to think what they do to our children’s developing brains, and no one really understands it.

Diet must play a role in our mental health.

Climate change anxiety: Young people 'feel hopeless'

I read this and thought of this thread - apparently we now need to do counciling in schools around climate change.

I suspect this age group gets relentless targeted by many groups with issues as they are idealistic and will at some point come to power - but at the moment they are more pester power to section of socitey that can make changes. I do wonder if that adds to feelings of powerless and being overwhelmed and hopeless.

Yes I said that earlier. Inflammation and dysbiosis and micronutrient deficiency play a huge role IMHO through poor diet, antibiotic use and even lack of breastfeeding (sorry).