Perspective: There’s no epidemic of anxiety disorders among teenagers

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The Big Myth About Teenage Anx­i­ety (The New York Times):

We hear a lot these days that mod­ern dig­i­tal tech­nol­o­gy is rewiring the brains of our teenagers, mak­ing them anx­ious, wor­ried and unable to focus.

Don’t pan­ic; things are real­ly not this dire.

Despite news reports to the con­trary, there is lit­tle evi­dence of an epi­dem­ic of anx­i­ety dis­or­ders in teenagers …  Some would argue that young peo­ple today are more wor­ried because the world is now in a more par­lous state, what with intense com­pe­ti­tion for col­lege and the lin­ger­ing effects of the Great Reces­sion, among oth­er fac­tors. Sure, but then that anx­i­ety is an appro­pri­ate response to life’s chal­lenges — not a disorder…

So don’t assume that there’s some­thing wrong with your kid every time he’s anx­ious or upset. Our teenagers — and their brains — are up to the chal­lenges of mod­ern life.”

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About SharpBrains

SHARPBRAINS is an independent think-tank and consulting firm providing services at the frontier of applied neuroscience, health, leadership and innovation.
SHARPBRAINS es un think-tank y consultoría independiente proporcionando servicios para la neurociencia aplicada, salud, liderazgo e innovación.

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