Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Millennials and meds

Check out this study on high school/college students and depression. It found five times as many high school and college students are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues as youth of the same age who were studied in the Great Depression era. Fascinating stuff... and an area I've been wanting to study more.

http://http//www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/11/AR2010011100261.html

As to the "why's" of the depression/anxiety surge... there's a lot to uncover. The article sites a couple of causes: societal pressures to be rich and beautiful, and doting parents.

Several studies also have captured the growing interest in being rich, with
77 per cent of those questioned for UCLA's 2008 national survey of college
freshmen saying it was "essential" or "very important" to be financially well
off.Experts say such high expectations are a recipe for disappointment.

Meanwhile, they also note some well-meaning but overprotective parents have
left their children with few real-world coping skills, whether that means doing
their own budget or confronting professors on their own.

It would also be interesting to examine the role of technology in all this. Many young people live in a socially networked world that can end up being pretty lonely and isolating at the end of the day. Then there's the confusion between virtual life and real life. Ex: killer wii bowler, yet stink in real life bowling. (aka: me)

We also live in a world that offers a pill for every ill. I'd be interested to see how many parents/doctors just throw medicine at young people as a first resort "fix," instead of identifying the root causes of their troubles... working through the "coping" steps... or seeing a counselor, etc.

Certainly depression/anxiety is a serious issue and often requires medical attention. I don't downplay that at all. But, I find it interesting that our generation (who has it all) is struggling more than the great depression youngsters (who really had it tough).

What do you think is contributing to the problem?

One thing's for sure: we all want our youth to grow up to be happy, healthy young adults. Yet they are hurting. How can we help?