Anxiety | Why are young people being harassed so much? THL’s chief physician and school psychologist tell

Still more young Finns experience anxiety in their everyday life. In last autumn’s school health survey of the National Institute of Health and Welfare (THL), more than a fifth of the 8th and 9th graders reported experiencing moderate or severe anxiety.

The phenomenon is gendered: more than a third of girls experienced anxiety, less than ten percent of boys.

Even in 2017, a clearly smaller proportion of young people reported similar anxiety.

There is no clear reason why young people experience more anxiety than before, says THL’s chief physician Outi Linnaranta.

“There are many factors at the same time that color young people’s view of what their life is like now or when they are adults,” explains Linnaranta.

The clearest According to Linnaranta, the only explanation for the increased anxiety among young people is the measures taken due to the corona pandemic. In order to prevent the spread of the virus, school attendance and leisure activities of children and young people were restricted.

“THL was already warned about this at the time, and now with hindsight we can say that the disadvantages of the measures were greater than the benefits,” says Linnaranta.

When the issues that are essential to a young person’s growth were addressed, many young people started to get excited about everyday situations, says Linnaranta.

“It’s when you watch at school, when you should perform or eat and when others are around,” he says.

“They have become very draining and distressing situations for many people.”

The school psychologist of Urjala unified school has noticed the same Jenni Kilpinenwho has worked with children and young people for more than 20 years.

The current 8th and 9th graders were of primary school age at the time of the strictest restrictions of the corona pandemic. According to Kilpinen, some young people can see that social situations and working in groups have become less in school and in their free time.

In general, the amount of talk about anxiety has increased, says Kilpinen. Young people talk about ordinary life and everyday feelings as anxiety.

“The word ‘anxiety’ describes all the uncertainty, tension, worry, irritation, disappointment, all the malaise that young people experience,” says Kilpinen

“Our job and that of all other adults is to help young people understand what feelings that lump of anxiety contains.”

Often A young person who attends Kilpinen’s talks talks about anxiety as a paralyzing feeling.

“There is a feeling that I can’t do that and I can’t do that for different things. Many times, young people describe that they have a need to withdraw to their own peace and away from situations,” says Kilpinen.

When this kind of avoidance behavior targets ordinary everyday things, anxiety starts to narrow the young person’s circle of life, says Kilpinen.

That’s why, according to Kilpinen, adults should help young people find ways in which they can participate in things the way they used to.

According to Kilpinen, many young people also experience anxiety about doing well at school. Many girls in particular already have anxiety about further studies in middle school.

Own social media creates unrealistic goals and appearance ideals for young people.

In Outi Linnaranta’s opinion, when talking about social media, anxiety could often be replaced by the word conflict.

“Contradiction between what young people see on social media, where they should be going, and what they see in the mirror or when they look around. It causes a contradiction, and it creates anxiety.”

Comparison with others is not made easier by the fact that society has become more individualistic and competitive in a short time. Modern demands are emphasized in the social media world.

“It may be difficult to be your usual self in the world of young people,” says Jenni Kilpinen.

Some is also a part of the reason why girls experience more anxiety than boys. Girls prefer more content that causes body image anxiety and pressure to do well.

“Boys are perhaps more in the game world, which often includes playing together. Girls’ use of social media is lonely,” explains Outi Linnaranta.

However, despite its numerous downsides, social media does not explain all the anxiety experienced by young people, Linnaranta emphasizes.

“It’s too easy a solution to offset the entire increase in anxiety with social media.”

Because to protect the anxiety experienced by young people, it does not help that adults take away their phones, says Linnaranta. This does not mean that the use of social media by young people should not be limited and monitored, he emphasizes.

“But unconditional does not mean that the young person does not receive the support of an adult in processing and managing its content and that he cannot talk about the things that come across on social media.”

In addition, social measures are needed, he states: families must have sufficient financial security and enough workers in student care.

Young people also need to know where they can get the help they need. This does not seem to be the case at the moment. Linnaranta tells about his research projectwhich investigates the success of depression treatment in middle schools.

“There are huge numbers of young people who are depressed and even have suicidal attempts, but they say they haven’t told any adults about their feelings.”

Linnaranta and Kilpinen emphasize that not all young people experiencing anxiety need psychiatric treatment. It is more important to listen to the anxious young person: where does the bad feeling come from, how could the young person be helped, does he have friends he can talk to.

Peer support and friendships are critical to a young person’s well-being, but according to Linnaranta and Kilpinen, helping young people starts from the fact that all young people have a safe adult in their everyday life. Someone who makes the young person feel heard.

“It is a sign of danger that a young person is left alone with his bad feeling and does not talk to anyone and thinks that he is the only one who feels bad,” says Linnaranta.