In an article published just before COVID-19, The Economist reported that most studies on Generation Z (those born in the late 1990s to early 2010s) suggest that this generation of children is less hedonistic and better behaved than their predecessors, but more lonely. In 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey reported a statistically significant increase in teen suicides and the percentage of teens experiencing persistent sadness or hopelessness (from 26% in 2009 to 37% in 2019). Then the pandemic hit. The most vulnerable of these children, the late Generation Zers, survived the pandemic (but it changed their world) and are now in high school.
High school can be an emotional rollercoaster for teenagers under normal circumstances, which is why mental health clinicians who work with teens, like me and my colleagues, have been thinking for a few years about what high school might look like post-pandemic for Gen Z teens. I argue that Gen Z is like Tesla in that it both loves technological sophistication but is also sensitive to life’s challenges.
Alyssa Soldinger, a 14-year-old freshman at a suburban New York high school, recently won an essay contest about the mental health challenges facing today’s Gen Z youth. She accepted my request for an interview to discuss these challenges.
John G. Cotone: Alyssa, in your paper you cite the 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which reports that 37% of students your age report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness (Ivey-Stephenson et al., 2019). Why do you think this is?
Alyssa: Many teens are afraid to speak up or don’t know where a safe place is. Some want therapy, but only 12% of kids actually seek it (according to the CDC). Many teens face this inner battle alone because the world tells them their problems are “insignificant,” “it’s all in your head,” or “there are bigger problems in the world.”
JGC: Well said, Alyssa. In a previous post, I advised parents, friends, and family of people struggling with mental illness to simply sit and listen to the person who is struggling, rather than risking dismissing them by offering advice or perspective. How did it make you feel as a teenager when parents, teachers, or other adults said things like you mentioned above, “There are people out there with bigger problems”?
answer: It only makes us feel even smaller than we already feel. When we tell an adult that we’re struggling emotionally, suddenly the problem becomes real, and as I said before, when they respond by denying it, it makes us feel as though there is something really wrong with us, that we’re some sad monster that no one wants to get close to. Hiding then becomes the only option for teenagers, because why would they want to deal with these feelings?
JGC: In your opinion, why do you think teens react this way when the adults around them are just trying to help?
answer: Teens are very self-conscious and it’s normal for them to look to their peers for approval. When you’re being bullied, adults tell you not to care about what other people think, but it’s not that simple. Adults can choose who they surround themselves with, so they don’t feel self-conscious.
I think adults forget that they’re not forced to stay in harmful situations the way teenagers are. If an adult feels uncomfortable with a coworker, they can quit their job or avoid that person. If someone disrespects them, they can get in their car and leave. Children don’t have this option. Children don’t have these freedoms. Adults are financially independent. But children and teenagers have to get everything they want through their parents or guardians. And even if they could run away, they wouldn’t get far.
JGC: From your perspective, what does depression look like among today’s teens?
answer: Mental health problems (e.g. loneliness) and social problems (e.g. bullying) can each lead to depression, which can be experienced as either emotional or apathetic. teeth The emotions felt are not pleasant and have a weight that those who have not experienced it cannot comprehend. Most days of depression are filled with a sense of emptiness mixed with anger and sadness.
Depression feels inescapable, which is why it’s so common among teenagers. There’s constant pressure to be stronger, faster, prettier, smarter. Everyone in your class seems perfect.
Teens can’t escape. They can’t get out of school. They always have to answer to authority. They always have to justify themselves.
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JGC: Why do you think some teenagers sometimes feel helpless and even have suicidal thoughts?
answer: When you’re struggling in school, you’re told that going to school is a privilege, but when you’re a teenager, it doesn’t feel that way. You think about the bigger picture and the fact that in 100 years you’ll be dead and no one will remember you anyway, and it makes you feel like life is meaningless. So why even try?
This is what goes on in the mind of a teenager who feels unimportant or has suicidal thoughts.
JGC: What advice would you give to teens who are feeling hopeless or suicidal?
Source: Alyssa Soldinger / Used with permission
answer: When you are healthy, you know that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. But when you are emotional about something, feel unimportant, worthless, and in despair, you may believe that your depression is permanent and will never get better, and suicide may seem like your only option. When your mind is playing tricks on you, suicide may seem like the only solution, but remember that it is not true.
It’s important for teens to understand that there is always a way to overcome any obstacle, big or small. Whether it’s getting a tutor, individual counseling, family therapy, joining a club to be more social, or taking up a new hobby, there is always a solution and a way around the obstacle that is currently in your way. The only thing holding you back from growing and becoming better is yourself.
If you or a loved one are having thoughts of suicide, please seek help immediately. Help is available 24/7 988 Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. To find a therapist near you, Psychology Today Therapy Directory.
