Depression and younger age: teenagers’ troubles are not just "hypocritical"
Column
Although today's living conditions are better, the probability of frustration among young people has also greatly increased, which requires more attention from all parties.
October 10th is Mental Health Day.
According to statistics from the World Health Organization, it is estimated that 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression.
Recently, the Beijing News published a special report, walked into patients suffering from depression and their families, and asked psychologists for advice.
The report once again aroused the public's attention to the depression group, and among them, the problem of the younger age of depression should arouse more attention.
Uniform ideals and conformity to the crowd, aggravate the frustration of young people
Data show that people with depression are of all ages worldwide.
A special survey on the mental health of young people shows that nearly 30% of the interviewed youths aged 14-35 are at risk of depression, and nearly 10% are at high risk of depression. Suicide has become the second leading cause of death among people aged 15-29. .
While depression is showing a trend of getting younger and younger, the attendance rate for depression has not been high.
The gap between the high prevalence rate and the low attendance rate is largely due to the bias of ideas and the stigmatization of low-age depression.
At the moment, many parents still don't know enough about depression in adolescents, and even have a misunderstanding that "this generation is so delicious and squeaky that it will be crazy about it".
At the same time, the "closed tendency" of some youth groups is becoming more and more obvious.
On the Internet where the “mourning culture” is prevalent, vocabulary such as cybercrime, social fear, etc. often appear in the Weibo Chaohua and Douban groups. The emotions of the group members are contagious with each other. Many negative emotions not only find a suitable outlet, but even more. strong.
There are many factors that lead to a younger age of depression, and biological factors include age, gender, and genetics.
The neurological mechanism of adolescents is not perfect, including genetic genes, etc., will also bring biological susceptibility, and affect the younger age of depression.
Biological susceptibility will bring psychological susceptibility, but there are other reasons that also bring psychological susceptibility, such as "frustration experience."
That is to say, when a child or even a baby, without the company and care of parents and elders, the individual cannot feel stability and safety, and will easily become psychologically susceptible. For the emotions brought about by setbacks in life, the threshold of feeling The limit is lower and the degree deeper.
A psychologically susceptible individual will be more likely to fall into learned helplessness when encountering setbacks, but it does not necessarily fall into such a quagmire.
But in the current social environment, the "frustration" suffered by young people is immeasurable.
Some parents have obvious utilitarianism towards the success of young people, and the pressure of social competition has increased. The parents are more willing to put all resources and hopes on the young people. The pressure from the parents has increased sharply; many people pursue the same university and the same life. Peer pressure is not small.
No matter what resources and opportunities are limited, if someone gets it, it will inevitably make others who pursue this goal suffer.
Therefore, the probability of adolescents experiencing setbacks has increased to some extent.
In the face of setbacks, children are most afraid of being accused of being "stared"
Whether students struggling for the college entrance examination or pursuing high-paying youths in first-tier cities, the pursuit of progress is originally a positive attitude; but when hopes are lost in the face of real competition, some people find it difficult to adjust their attitudes, and they become self-blame. I am "incompetent" and "not working hard enough."
In particular, pressure from some parents will further aggravate this frustration.
Many parents think that nowadays, teenagers have become squeamish and unable to bear the frustration and pressure when their lives become better, and they often give examples of their hard life when they were young, accompanied by "If you want to be replaced by you, do you have to live a long time ago?" Class accusations.
As a result, children encounter frustration and want to seek comfort, but some parents are still "spraying salt on the wound". The sense of frustration and helplessness will be further strengthened, resulting in negative attribution and behavior patterns.
Secondly, the early life environment brought more physical hunger and fatigue, which are not in opposition to the psychological stability and security.
One of the results of social progress is that the gap between high-quality life and ordinary life is getting wider, and psychological imbalances are more common.
At the same time, young people now have wider access to information and are more mature in their minds. The problems they think about are often not those of their parents at the same age. They tend to be deeper, broader, and more philosophical.
In the process of growing up, setbacks are inevitable.
When children encounter setbacks, parents should be their companions, and it is best not to stand on the opposite side and criticize.
Lack of parental companionship and care can easily lead to adolescents’ personality sensitivity and psychological susceptibility, and they will suffer more quickly, more easily, and frustrated more deeply when encountering "stressful life events".
Therefore, parents are children’s teachers, but they should be friends.
When children encounter setbacks, parents need to do their best to help and protect them, and do not "stare" at them. They should look at them and communicate equally.
Therefore, for juvenile depression, in addition to professional treatment, correct, tolerant and strong love and long-term company can bring more warmth to the people.
□ Zhou Li (Mental Health Education and Counseling Center of Renmin University of China)