ON THE MINDS OF MOMS IN-DEPTH

The anxious generation' '

Why young people are lonelier and more stressed than the rest of us

When you first spot Concordia College senior Mollie Francis sitting at a table at the school’s Knutson Campus Center, you immediately get the sense she’s someone others admire. She’s a good student, hoping one day to be a physician assistant, and she was active in track and soccer in high school. She looks like any other smiling student athlete in the yearbook. Story by | Tracy Briggs

And in many ways, she is. Francis is one of a growing number of young people in the United States battling anxiety.

Anxiety is defined by the American Psychological Association as “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes, such as sweating, trembling, dizziness or a rapid heartbeat.” People with anxiety disorders usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns and may avoid certain situations out of worry about what could happen.

“When I was a freshman and I’d be studying, I’d have these little panic attacks, like I don’t know this material and I’m not gonna be able to learn in X amount of time,” Francis says. She was also starting to lose weight. “I couldn’t eat, nothing looked appetizing. I actually went to the doctor and they ended up doing a lot of extensive testing in terms of different food intolerances because that’s what we thought the issue was. Then I went to a gastroenterologist and they did an endoscopy. After all of that, we figured out it was anxiety,” she says.

Her story is all too common. Most children who end up with an anxiety diagnosis first complain about their stomach hurting. It’s a symptom they can easily explain.

What is harder to explain is exactly what is causing anxiety in teens and children and how we, as parents, can help them cope.

Find On the Minds of Mom first in-depth series: “The anxiety epidemic”, a seven-part series publishing Jan. 7 through 14 on InForum.com. Tracy Briggs investigates possible reasons for the increase of anxiety cases and discusses treatment options with both sufferers and health practitioners.

The anxious generation In 2018, Pew Research polled 920 Americans between the ages of 13 and 17 to learn about the concerns faced by Generation Z, defined as those born

roughly between 1995 and 2015. The survey found a generation less hedonistic, better behaved and lonelier than previous generations.

A full 70 percent of respondents called anxiety and depression a “major issue” among their peers. In a Harris poll, 91 percent of Gen Z respondents reported feeling some physical or emotional symptoms from stress.

According to the Child Mind Institute, nearly 1 in 3 adolescents will meet criteria by the time they’re 18 for an anxiety disorder, which includes generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder or social phobias. And the incidence of anxiety more than doubles from the age of 13 to 18. High school students today have more anxiety symptoms and are twice as likely to see a mental health professional as teens in the 1980s.

“Anxiety is the No. 1 thing I see people for,” says Tracy Hansen with Fraser Ltd.’s Valley Hope Counseling.

Hansen says she sees more adolescent girls than boys suffering from anxiety, but both genders face it. She likes to remind people anxiety is a normal emotion we all have and we don’t want to get rid of it entirely.

“Anxiety serves a purpose. Anxiety helps us to be able to tell us when something is wrong and give us a warning sign. It’s the same alarm that went off back in the Stone Age times when there was a saber-toothed tiger ready to attack. It’s like a smoke alarm,” she says. “But you have to see is there toast burning or if there is a fire burning.”

For those with anxiety disorders, Hansen says it’s like the smoke alarm won’t stop going off, even when nothing is on fire.The anxiety — fear that something bad will happen — gets in the way of living their lives. They have disproportionate reactions to normal developmental experiences, like going to school, attending a party or staying at a sleepover or camp.

“I think there is so much more anxiety now but people also don’t feel like they can cope the way they might have in the past,” she says. “It’s more common Mollie Francis, a Concordia College student, holds her emotional support animal, Oliver, who helps her with symptoms of anxiety. | Submitted photo

that we can talk about it. But I think the threshold of where people feel like they can cope is different. I think they’re calling anxiety unmanageable, when in the past it was just seen as stress.”

What’s causing all the anxiety in these young people? Hansen says Gen Z is growing up in a “scarier world” with school shootings, lockdown drills and gun violence. This generation’s heavy social media usage also isn’t helping, she says.

No matter the cause, Hansen says she tries to teach her clients how to better cope with the feelings prompted by their anxiety.

“Thoughts, feelings and behaviors are all connected,” she says. “Sometimes it’s about reframing thoughts and recognizing thought distortion.”

medication and getting an emotional support animal, a cat named Oliver, has helped her in the last couple of years. She says “cuddling” with him every night calms her and helps her focus.

“My freshman year, I probably overstudied, and not studying in the right way. But when I got on the medication, it helped me channel that anxiety into healthy study — a more controlled way of studying.”

Francis, like many people, says she knows she might battle anxiety her entire life. The strength comes in recognizing what’s real and what’s not — empowering herself every day to conquer the imaginary saber-toothed tiger.

Who is Gen Z?

Since generations can span two full decades, it’s sometimes hard to generalize characteristics of those within a generation. But here are some perceived similarities of those in Generation Z, who were born between 1995 and 2015 and make up a quarter of the U.S. population.

They are tech savvy: From the day they were born, the internet and cellphones were commonplace. If they want information, they know where to find it. According to Kasasa.com, the average person in this generation received their first mobile phone when they were about 10 years old. “Many of them grew up playing with their parents’ mobile phones or tablets. They have grown up in a hyper-connected world and the smartphone is their preferred method of communication. On average, they spend three hours a day on their mobile device.”

Despite tech, they like face-to-face interaction: They like to interact face to face with people. But it doesn’t have to be in person. They are heavy users of video chat platforms like FaceTime and Skype.

They are competitive, often with themselves: They demand the best. They want to earn good grades, get into the best schools and land the highest paying jobs. Competition drives them.

They are impatient: Because of technology, they aren’t used to waiting. They want instant gratification and have a fear of missing out when they’re not able to do something.

They are independent: Perhaps a result of their impatience and competitiveness, they like to work and achieve goals on their own and not always rely on others.

They are the loneliest generation: Because of their heavy social media usage, they spend more hours online with friends, but less time together. While connected, they self-report more loneliness than their parents did growing up in the 1970s and ‘80s.

They welcome change: Gen Z is open to new ideas and experiences. They can change their mind quickly and adapt to change well.

They are more selfless: According to Pew Research, Gen Z is less hedonistic and better behaved than previous generations. They tend to be close to their families and aware of the needs of the world.

Diversity is the norm: Gen Z grew up with a black president and marriage equality. They are less likely to judge others based on race, gender or sexual orientation. According to TTI Success Insights, they will be the last generation to live in an America where the majority of people are white.

War is the norm: Most Gen Z Americans have never known their country not at war.

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