CNN
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My teenage years, like many of our teens, were a time of bareness. I felt vulnerable, unstable, and confused, and I recorded it all in my well-protected diary pages.
Looking back, there was beauty in this rawness. All of those strong emotions helped me understand who I was and what kind of people I wanted around me. I feel lucky to be part of the last generation, and the last to be influenced by the Gen X lazy, not the next self-optimist. This rawness was somewhat shielded from the societal influence that I said I should have done more with.
Not today. Girls are growing up with increasing external pressures, and the transition into teenage years and adulthood is far more precarious than before.sharp according to research depression surge When anxiety The proportion of women in recent years is significantly higher than that of men.
In her new book, “Girls on the brink: Helping daughters thrive in a time of increased anxiety, depression and social media,” Donna Jackson Nakazawa examines why this is so and what we can do about it. CNN spoke to Nakazawa about new brain science on girls and adolescence and how his fast-paced online lifestyle doesn’t fit his psychological needs well.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
CNN: What is it about this moment that makes teenage girls’ lives so difficult?
Donna Jackson Nakazawa: The focus is very much on performance and competition. Our children are missing an important part of their childhood – from ages 7 to 13. We replace it with fast-moving culture and add social media too. Did. This is not intended for children to participate until she is 13, although many children start earlier.
Appearances hit girls especially when they appeared on social media. They are more likely than boys to be “liked” or “disliked” based on their appearance and to be sexual objects. The more you take off your clothes, the more likes you get, and you learn that your body is being evaluated.
Add to this the threat of global warming, school shootings, and everything else. Literally everything is heating up and social media platforms are made to increase the intensity of emotions. It must be superimposed on the harsh realities that we face on a daily basis.
CNN: Are girls’ brains particularly sensitive to these stressors?
Nakazawa: Puberty is a very vulnerable period for a girl’s brain development. Of course, this applies to boys and everyone on the spectrum, but it’s especially true for girls. , and for good reason.
Evolutionarily speaking, estrogen is a very groovy hormone and a major regulator in the brain. However, when women face major ongoing stressors in their environment, our systems can overreact. This is why women respond more strongly to vaccines. which is why women are many times more likely than men to suffer from autoimmune diseases.
When girls experience overwhelming social and emotional stressors at the same time as estrogen is released during puberty, the negative effects of stress on health and development can be exacerbated.
CNN: Plus, girls hit puberty at a young age.
Nakazawa: Puberty is happening early, when the brain shouldn’t be rebuilding. All those parts of the brain are not yet activated when we discern what we should or should not react to and when we need help.
Scientists are trying to figure out why puberty hits earlier, and we know it’s happening. In 1800, a girl started menstruating around the age of 16. In the 1900s she was about 15 years old. Her average age in 2020 was 11. Stress and dietary changes may have accelerated development. Some neuroscientists believe that the sexual objectification of girls at an early age may be another part of why puberty comes early. If so, it could trigger a pathway that triggers puberty.
Whatever the reason, more and more girls are hitting puberty at a younger age. That means we have emotions and increased stress before our brains fire up and are wired to deal with it.
CNN: Adolescence is a time of intense emotions and a degree of alienation for everyone. How can you tell the difference between her typical grumpy teenager and a mental health disorder?
Nakazawa: The classic signs are that your child is no longer talking to you or anyone else. , is experiencing feelings of hopelessness and fatigue.
So when your daughter tells you hard things, try to make it a good experience for her. Parents need to find ways to keep conversations open, not just with themselves, but with everyone, including their favorite aunts and teachers.
CNN: Still, the solution to this problem isn’t something parents can or should handle on their own, right?
Nakazawa: There are many ways to get involved with the wider community. Too many parents think they’re the only ones dealing with this, but we’re not alone. There will come a time when our children will not speak to us. It’s okay to reach out to the school and say you need help. If your child is feeling anxious or depressed and can’t handle it, you’re not a failure. Why should we think we’re the only ones with actionable advice?
Talk therapy can help. I have very good evidence. Having a wider community can give children a lot of security. This is because this is how humans have evolved over the course of evolution. We come from a communal environment, but today we are very isolated and our children feel like they are in competition with each other and feel less connected.
Engaging in a community gives children a sense of the wider world that they matter and that there are other adults around the world to say, “There you are.” We want children to participate in community-wide events that are not about performance or evaluation, external validation, or resume building. We recognize that and hope to help build intrinsic value.
Overall, the more attractive, engaging and stimulating a wider world of healthy connections we make for girls, unlike the online social media world, the more secure they feel. Become.
When you feel safe, the stress mechanisms in your brain are less likely to engage and you’re more likely to spend your teenage years free of depression and anxiety. Adolescent girls’ brains are incredibly agile. They have many social cues at once. If these cues are good and many of the stressors can be eliminated, the adolescent female brain has superpowers.
