DEPRESSED TEENS
By: Sarah Palla
Tags: Teens, Motivation, Beyourself

Teenagers now are depressed more then ever and there are a ton of reasons why but all of which are resolvable only if someone listens. The problem with our community these days is that no-one listens. Every one wants somebody who would listen to them but none of them are willing to be that somebody, they just wants to speak, which is not wrong they also deserve to speak but what they don’t understand is that you have to wait for your turn. Sharing whatever you are going through with someone you trust and are comfortable with, the person who would not judge you no matter what is amazing, personally I think its liberating in a way. One thing, however, that I have noticed is when people are sharing an experience or something that is frustrating them the other person jumps up to compare instead of just hearing the person out, like if I m sharing an experience of how hard it has been for me to get over something it turns in to a competition of who has had to face more problems.

Generation Z (people born in 1997–2012 which would mean 7–22 years old) and the generation Y aka millennials (people born in 1981–1996 which would mean 23–38 years old) can still relate to some extent but most of the parents would come in generation X (people born in 1965–1980 which would mean 38–52 years old). This leaves a generation gap between the teenagers and their parents which makes it hard to communicate, it makes it hard for the parent to understand the child’s point of view as what might be a big problem in the eyes of the teenager might not be a problem at all in the eyes of the parent.

Teenagers nowadays, as I have noticed in some of my personal friend circles, have to suffer a lot of peer pressure and bullying which undermines them and demotivates them, reduces their confidence and makes them doubt themselves and many teenagers, instead of facing their problems, find it easier to run from it. The suicide rate, according to https://discoverymood.com/, has been on a rise over the recent years. Parents don’t understand the kind of peer pressure a teenager has to face, through social media, in school and even outside as the surroundings have set impossible standards which not every average teenager can afford to live up to. Therapy or maybe just talking to some friends or family can be calming but, and I repeat, no-one in our community is willing to listen.

Many teenagers nowadays that I have interacted with also refer to themselves as “broken” which is because they get attached to people and addicted to stuff not made for them. In their youth when a teenager should be studying and being determined to be successful they are getting their hearts broken which apparently becomes a trend. I think that teenagers should change their perspective as a great mind once said to me, “Don’t be a trend follower, be a trend setter”. There was a guy in my batch who was a sports freak and he had this amazing philosophy that has been stuck in my head for the past two years. He said, “I look at life as if it is a cricket ground” and as soon as I heard this I was like “What?” “I am the batsman, the baller is continuously throwing the balls, each of which represents an opportunity” he continued having my full attention, “If I miss a ball and keep on looking at it I will not be able to see the other balls that the baller is throwing and unknowingly, because of that one ball, I could miss a dozen more hence if you miss a ball don’t keep looking at it, turn back around and see the other balls coming right at you.”

Teenagers need to understand that it is ok to be different, to have a diverse opinion and to be themselves cause that is their best selves. They should pursue their passion and their dreams no matter what the restrictions. They should face the blockage in their path and find a way to go around it instead of giving up because who knows what is on the other side of that blockage. Another advice for teenagers is to not let failure demotivate you because if u fail it means you are one step closer to success. With passion, motivation and determination anything is achievable and as for the peer pressure and the pressure of the society and community faced by teens I would say listen, smile and agree and then just do what you were going to do anyway, don’t second guess yourself and have full confidence in yourself, your beliefs and your actions.