Youth battling against anxiety

Bornali Nath Dowerah

(The writer can be reached at bornali.nd9@gmail.com)

Mostly youths are encouraged to fulfil their parents’ dreams. Leaving aside their yearnings, wishes of guardians are entrusted upon them. They are considered to be immature and insensitive or perhaps ‘less serious’ regarding their ambitions. So, goals are set up for them to be achieved step-by-step. Just like any video game they set out to run in the rat race of producing humanoids. Youths are told to follow what their elders’ say because the latter have seen more life and hence, more experiences. Interestingly, the real scenario of growing gap between parents and their young adult children has increased for two decades. When the adolescents require their parents most they don’t find them by their side to even communicate with. For instance, sharing and discussing their shortcomings with their parents are rarely done. It’s not that materials are the only things that they want at this stage. They do have needs of their own. But, perhaps very few perceive the value of life and living. It may be so because they are not taught to manage anger, frustration, depression and anxiety. This is one of the major reasons that youths committing suicides have been on the rise. Mentoring the young adults about how to deal with anxiety is very crucial at this stage of life.

Showing care and concern is different from being over possessive which is unhealthy and may have detrimental effects consequently. What is pivotal in this regard is listening to them, to allow them to voice their heart and mind out just like friends share secrets among them. In this digital era trust among friends has become somewhat dubious. But if family can attempt to secure the trust of their adolescent children, or siblings, a positive outcome can be expected. This step not only shields a teenage youth from anxiety but lightens the burden of emotional crisis that they pass through. Moreover, it is a known fact that every child’s mind is like a clean slate. Like clay they can be moulded to any shape. But by the time they become teens keeping a friendly bonding with them is indispensable.

Imposing restrictions on teenagers intrigue more inexorable and aggressive behaviour. Most often one out of every five families rebukes their teenage wards. Reasons can be any trifle matter. This does not mean that they should be pampered. Rather it is necessitated to sit with them, participate in any activity with them and allow them to voice out their dreams.

Gone is the era when there was huge gamut of reticence between elders and youths in the same family. This is 21st century digital era. Becoming “cool” with them is one of the essential paths that help them to exercise the value and importance of family.

Financial support has its own limitations that invoke misusing and devaluing of parents’ hard earnings. But value of hard work, handling tensions and sustaining life are such realities which impart greater lessons than academia that every teenager is required to be taught.

According to the studies made by The Guardian in 2018, India comprises 600 million young people under 25 years of age is a combination of rich cultural values of traditional Asian family with the life goals of the American teenager. But almost one out of five adolescents in India suffers from some level of mental morbidity, says a 2019 study conducted by the Bengaluru-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences. Male teenagers from urban, nuclear family backgrounds constituted the majority of its sample survey. They showed risk behaviour such as substance abuse, casual sex and speed driving and were found to be often in conflict with their family members and the law.

Isolation, stress of performance in education, relationships, as well as works are taking a toll on the mental health of youth. Young people are not well equipped to handle this stress. Such kind of stress demands a presence of caring family members and supportive friends to overcome a number of challenging situations in their daily lives.

In India going for counseling sessions is stigmatized and discussed in a clandestine manner. Meeting a psychiatrist is considered to be a matter of shame. So, shedding of inhibitions for counseling should be justified by both parents and peer groups. It is time to break the stereotypes and embrace what the situation demands. If a family or teacher fails to win trust of young adults counseling is an option. This may be because the adolescent will not feel judged as an individual. Feeling of shame and shyness are caused due to anxiety. Overcoming such situations is needed to be meted out through open discussions. Adults may take initiatives for this serious cause in this regard.

It is required to be taught that failure is part of life and it is important to tackle such situations. Openly rebuking, blaming or punishing them can worsen the condition. It is, therefore, the family’s role to be sensitive to their anxieties as well and be empathetic towards them.

Another approach of youth well being is motivation towards physical fitness. Mental fitness is directly proportional to physical fitness. Here the relevance of both Bollywood and Hollywood personalities play a specific role. It is due to their fitness regime that today’s youths are attracted and morally boosted to hit the gymnasium. This activity may help towards digital detox which will decrease their device addiction as well. Hence, it is important to tackle mental fitness issues amongst the younger generation at the earliest. The youth are the pillars of productivity of our nation, and if they are psychologically feeble, entire stability of the nation gets dismantled. A mentally fit youth population is one of the most important pre-requisites for creativity, productivity and progress of a nation. It is not about binding the youths in the arena of the elders, rather it is the other way round. It is more about them letting the elders into their territory with ease, comfort and confidence.