Let’s face it – anxiety is almost as commonplace in our society as breathing air. It’s running rampant everywhere you look, especially among our youth. Anxiety can take on many forms depending on the individual person such as physical symptoms of tightness in the chest, sweaty palms and trembling. Others have constant inner turmoil which causes difficulty within relationships and at work/school. Several changes in society have added to this constant worry such as social media, increased income levels and pressure to succeed.
Social media has definitely increased anxiety levels for people everywhere. It has caused people to question their self-worth when comparing their lives to other’s online. This form of comparison can provoke anxiety and lead people to question whether their life is measuring up to those around them. Specifically with teens, they often feel that to remain relevant or popular among peers they must keep up with all forms of social media and interact on a daily basis. They can feel harshly judged for not remaining active online. And since teenagers have a strong desire to fit in with others, this pressure and anxiety can be overwhelming.
The pace of life is moving so quickly that people experience a need to keep up or get left behind. Many families are working hard so they can make purchases to keep up with society’s fast-paced changes – newer iPhones, bigger cars, fancier houses. This perceived idea of happiness and always chasing after it can be exhausting. But the internal drive to continue is there and increased anxiety is often the outcome. Rather than feeling content with what they have, many people feel they must constantly strive for more.
Life can be tough enough without adding these types of pressures to ourselves. An effective strategy to use during these times is gratitude. When you focus on what you have and what you feel grateful for in your life, it becomes difficult to feel anxious or inadequate over what is missing in your life. Practice gratitude by writing down 3 things you are grateful for each morning and reflect on those throughout the day if negative feelings pop into your mind.
