It’s hard to be an adolescent in 2020. Their social lives are so vital to their well-being and identity, but here we are, cooped up at home just to get through the pandemic. Right now, adults are reporting higher than average stress related to politics, inequity, natural disasters, and, of course, COVID-19. If things feel overwhelming to those of us with fully developed brains, what’s it like to be a teenager right now? What’s it like to be cut off from your friends and the structure of the regular school day? Or to manage anxiety about racial injustice dominating the media while the air hangs with smoke from ever-larger wildfires?
Many pre-teens and teens struggle through adolescence. Their every emotion is heightened and often not checked for its veracity. Coping skills are unfamiliar and difficult to practice. The culture around them can often whisper, “What feels good is good,” and they are prone to believe this suggestion even when what “feels good” may be harmful. So we see increasing numbers of teens engaging in risky behaviors and experiencing severe anxiety and depression. Suicidal ideation and self-harm continues to rise among adolescents. They are an entire segment of our population and they are vulnerable right now.
