Teenagers everywhere, including Loy Norrix, have been hit by the spreading epidemic of anxiety. Combined stresses of academics and the future can lead to unhealthy lifestyle choices.
“I would say the majority of clients I see have some level of anxiety,” said therapist Mili Menon-Perez, who works at Kalamazoo Child and Family Counseling. “This can range from mild anxiety that is triggered by specific situations, to severe anxiety that is present all day, every day,”
Freshman Luna Hole isn’t a stranger feeling social anxiety over the fear that he might be harshly judged.
“It can sometimes prevent me from doing things that I’d really like to,” said Hole.
With the booming success of social media platforms, nearly every student has a profile on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook or YouTube. Whether they’re bullied online or post for their viewers, teens’s online personality can follow them offline and increase their stress.
“I get a really bad fear that my friends don’t want to be around me, and so I kind of shy away from relationships,” said freshman Mace Rouse.
In The American Freshmen; Fifty Years of Trends, the Higher Education Research Institute reports that in 2016, 41% percent of college freshmen said they felt overwhelmed and anxious, compared to 18% of new college students in 1985.
“It’s like a snowball effect,” said Menon-Perez. “The more we avoid something we are anxious about, the more the snowball grows and grows. In the short term, you feel relieved after avoiding something that’s making you anxious. In the long term, though, our anxiety has grown and feels more intense.”
Most people have minor, occasional anxiety that’s reserved for big events. Those with anxiety disorders, like Rouse, harbor over-imaginative minds that try to guess what could happen before it does. This can cause relationships to crumble, grades to tank and hygiene to deteriorate if unchecked.
“If you’re getting really stressed out about something, try and think about what one of your loved ones would think if you did that really scary thing,” Hole said. “I know for me it’s nice to have that little voice that’s like ‘You can do it!’ even if it’s really nerve-racking.”
This spike of anxiety in teens can be detrimental to the success of their future. Therefore, teens need to seek help if they feel overwhelmed more than ever. If the numbers of kids with anxiety disorders continue to climb, teachers and parents should be prepared ahead of time to act and assist students through it.
