“The United States is experiencing an extreme teenage mental-health crisis. From 2009 to 2021, the share of American high-school students who say they feel “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from 26 percent to 44 percent, according to a new CDC study. This is the highest level of teenage sadness ever recorded.”

Teenage Mental-Health Crisis

“In the 2020 Atlantic feature “What Happened to American Childhood?,” Kate Julian <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/05/childhood-in-an-anxious-age/609079/">described </a>a related phenomenon that affects families a bit more broadly: Anxious parents, in seeking to insulate their children from risk and danger, are unintentionally transferring their anxiety to their kids.”

The “Rug Rat Race”

“I want to pull out two points from Julian’s complex essay. First, children are growing up slower than they used to. Today’s children are less likely to drive, get a summer job, or be asked to do chores. The problem isn’t that kids are lazy (homework time has risen), or that scrubbing dishes magically dispels anxiety disorders. Rather, Julian wrote, these activities “provide children with two very important things”: tolerating discomfort and having a sense of personal competence.”

Children Are Growing Up Slower In Real Life, But Faster Online

“Second, researchers have noted a broad increase in an “accommodative” parenting style. If a girl is afraid of dogs, an “accommodation” would be keeping her away from every friend’s house with a dog, or if a boy won’t eat vegetables, feeding him nothing but turkey loaf for four years (<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/05/childhood-in-an-anxious-age/609079/">an actual story from the article </a>). These behaviors come from love. But part of growing up is learning how to release negative emotions in the face of inevitable stress. If kids never figure out how to do that, they’re more likely to experience severe anxiety as teenagers.”

Accommodation Is Breeding Anxiety

”Why American Teens Are So Sad" made me realize the big lesson from a movie I recently enjoyed. This beautiful man, King Richard, protected his daughters from early pressure and burn out. Let kids be kids. The combination of working hard from a young age, but keeping the work manageable and fun turned Venus and Serena into some of the greatest athletes of all time.

Learn From King Richard 

This article was amazing. Many of these ideas have been on my mind recently.

Four forces are propelling the rising rates of depression among young people.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

health

Health

mentalhealth

Mental Health

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

Why American Teens Are So Sad

We’re all pretty complex until we get married. After marriage, our partners bring out whichever side of us we’ve decided to prioritize (usually the side of ourselves we value most). Our personalities narrowin marriage, but that narrowing helps us evolve from “complex” to “interesting”.

Marriage Makes People Simple, But Interesting

“The most important meal of the day, serving it up, Gary’s way” 🎵Was SpongeBob wrong? I’ve been intermittent fasting for two months now. I’ve experienced even energy levels (sometimes) and shed a few pounds (3 🙄), but mainly I’ve experienced hanger and fomo (my wife LOVES breakfast). The best thing I’ve been able to do for my health as a 28 yr old is join an indoor soccer league, and try to “eat healthy” (whatever that means for that day).

Is Intermittent Fasting “It”?

At least newborns are. Curious to see if I’ll hold this belief a week from now… (having my first baby in a few days:)!

Babies Are Ugly

Being corrected is hard for people. If you’re right about something, and you want it to matter, you have a huge responsibility to deliver that insight as gently and kindly as possible. Otherwise, you can enjoy being “right” and powerless.

Why American Teens Are So Sad

Thoughts I’m having as I approach having my first baby and going to business school this Fall

Casey Nixon