Hi parents,
If your teen or young adult child is feeling anxious, down, withdrawn, or overwhelmed lately—you’re not alone. We’re hearing from more and more families who are seeing mental health issues–including teen anxiety and depression–in their teens and young adult children, and honestly, the kids themselves often don’t know what’s going on either.
They might say it’s about school stress, a falling out with a friend, or feeling like they’re not “good enough.” And yes, those things absolutely matter. But what if that’s only part of the picture? What if your teen or young adult is showing signs of anxiety or depression not because something’s wrong with them, but because they’re growing up in a culture that isn’t exactly emotionally healthy?
Like Growing Up in a Family Where There’s Alcoholism
Here’s a metaphor that might help: Imagine a child growing up in a household where one of the adults is an alcoholic, but nobody talks about it. That kid might not realize it’s the family system that’s the issue. They might just think they’re the problem—maybe they set mom or dad off, maybe they didn’t do what their parent asked…maybe they’re too sensitive, too dramatic, not doing enough to “fix things.”
That’s what’s happening on a larger scale right now.
Our current cultural and geopolitical environment has a lot in common with that dysfunctional family system. There’s instability, unspoken fear, and way too much pretending everything is normal when it very much is not. Climate change, political division, economic stress, the war in Gaza, social injustice—it’s all in the air. It’s not that your teen or adult child is glued to the news 24/7; it’s that they’re absorbing the tension and chaos around them without even realizing it, thinking this is normal. When you think about the fact that teens and young adults are impacted nearly daily by mass shooting events–and that we’re treating this as though it is a normal problem that can’t be resolved–their acceptance of societal dysfunction as normal makes a lot of sense, as terrifying as that idea is.
It’s in their social media feeds. It’s in the way adults talk—or don’t talk—about what’s going on. It’s in the way they (or their parents) assess someone as a conservative or liberal. It’s the sense that even the adults are not in charge or can’t be trusted to improve things, given the political infighting and misinformation.
It’s an increasing sense of “what’s the point?” that floats around like background radiation.
It’s the water they’re swimming in, and no one’s handed them a map. It’s no wonder they have teen anxiety or depression.
The Invisible Weight Teens and Young Adults Carry
Your teen or young adult child might be feeling sad, lonely, unmotivated, or anxious—and think it’s all about friend drama or getting a B on a math test. And those things are real. But what’s also real is that they’re carrying the emotional burden of a world that feels unsafe, unjust, and kind of broken. And they may not even realize it.
According to Emma Beechen, a therapist at Life Counseling Institute in suburban Chicago, “Life can feel hopeless and overwhelming. With a world that feels confusing and scary, it can be hard for teens and young adults to be excited about growing up. There is already so much pressure to figure out who they are and what they want to become, and the unknown future of the world is an added pressure they might not be able to articulate.”
What we’re proposing here is that, in addition to supporting your teen or adult child in their day-to-day struggles, we might also talk to them to think about the cultural water they’re swimming in, to be able to see the other factors at play. This is also known as “widening the lens.” The more we can recognize that our struggles aren’t just an individual problem or defect, the more we can understand our experience, and the less overwhelming things may seem. If we treat teen anxiety or depression like it’s just a personal flaw or a developmental phase, we’re missing the bigger picture.
What Parents Can Do to Help Their Child with Teen Anxiety or Depression
So how do you help a teen or young adult who doesn’t even know the culture is affecting them?
Here are a few starting points:
- Normalize the idea that the world is hard right now. You might say, “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much pressure there is just existing in the world right now. It makes sense to feel heavy, even if you don’t always know why.”
- Don’t push them to care more about global issues. They might seem checked out or apathetic, but underneath that is usually overwhelm, not indifference. Their nervous system may be maxed out.
- Gently connect the dots. Say something like, “I wonder if some of what you’re feeling is not only about school or friends, but also the world being so intense right now. You’re not imagining it—it is intense.”
- Help them see it’s not just them. Teens and young adults often internalize dysfunction. Reassure them: “If you’re feeling anxious or sad, that doesn’t mean you’re broken. It might mean you’re having an understandable reaction to a really difficult environment.”
- Offer tools, not just talk. Therapy, mindfulness, nature, community—all of these can help them create an internal sense of safety in a chaotic world. They don’t need to solve the world’s problems; they just need support navigating it. Counseling can really help your teen or young adult child deal with their day to day struggles as well as help them widen the lens and understand the context of their problems.
You’re Not Overreacting—And Neither Are They
It’s easy to think, “They’re young—it’s always hard at that age.” And yes, the teen and early adult years are full of emotional ups and downs. But this generation is growing up with a level of background stress that’s anything but normal.
The more we can help them name it, the more they can stop blaming themselves for feeling the way they do. That shift—from “What’s wrong with me?” to “Oh, this makes sense now”—is powerful. It’s the beginning of healing.
And we’re here for that.
If you’d like to discuss counseling for a teen or young adult with depression or anxiety, give us a call at 630-269-2886.
