We caudle now so why is mental health worse off?

What is caudle?

Mental health seems to be a universal struggle nowadays. Not just for college students. Not sure why.

Because starting with Regan and his right winger successors, mental health was savaged by the government and we have not returned to the level of access to care that existed before since.

I think he means coddle.

Legal weed has increased consumption among all ages, but mostly among young men as the stigma surrounding its use has declined. The side effect is amplified in developing minds that are more prone to depression and suicidal tendencies with habitual use, particularly with the high potency strains available today (4 times the THC content from when your parents were in college). It's simple probability and statistics. It's also why mass shootings are on the rise.

Jonathan Haidt wrote a good book about this a few years back. It's called 'The Coddling of the American Mind.'

The conclusion he reaches is that high school and college students are taught the exact opposite of what a cognitive behavioural therapist would advise when combatting trauma or conflict. That is: young people are taught to pay attention to their feelings at all times, that their subjection interpretation of interactions is 'their truth'; they're taught to catastrophise; and to seek an external authority to solve problems rather than confront them themselves.

This, in combination with 'helicopter parenting', which kicked in around the early 90s, and 'social media' - have placed young people in a situation where they've not developed the skills to solve their own conflicts (because they've always had parents hovering around to do that for them), whilst also occupying a social space in which they cannot turn off from conflict (their phone reminds them of such conflict at all times of the day).

Wikipedia says a caudle is a warm ale or wine (as for invalids) mixed with bread or gruel, eggs, sugar, and spices, so presumably we coddle our college athletes with caudle.

It's the failure of the human race.

We've lost human compassion to treat one another with love & respect.

We've become such a violent species. Humans are full of hate & anger, greed & selfishness, destruction & combatiness.

We would rather fight than talk, seek revenge as opposed to forgiveness, destroy than rebuild, argue than listen.

With all the stressors in life, such as seeking a good job & career, earning good money, obtaining a college education, forming good friendships, seeking a suitable mate & getting married, staying healthy, etc, we are constantly comparing ourselves to others.

And when things break down or we experience bad luck and fail such as unable to get a good job or earn enough money to live, unable to get a college degree, unable to find a suitable mate or suffering from a divorce, become seriously ill or a love one becoming ill, we find ourselves in depression & despairity unable to cope with the problems.

We find very little compassion from our fellow humans who become indifferent to our shortcomings many times telling us it's all our fault.

Depression, stress, anxiety, etc - destroyers of the modern human.

You never thought that maybe it has always existed at this level it is not just more universally accepted to talk about?

Or maybe these students have grown in a social media age that does more damage than good as well as growing up in the midst of a global pandemic?

Because the world is sterile and boring. Instant global communication has made the idea of carving a personalized niche out for yourself a joke. All of the great discoveries and fun careers were ran through decades ago. You can't make a living studying something of personal interest like duck mating or how dogs relate to people anymore because we have 100+ years of records on it. You can't go out and play in the woods or the railroad tracks because every piece of property in town has been bought and sold 20 times and it's either been developed into a soulless corporate hell space or it's slated for that and covered with security cameras and "do not trespass" signs. Industrial production and America's shift to a knowledge economy has decimated simpler life and is continually and gradually killing small towns and communities. You're stuck with a probable future of doing office work in an economy where the ground level requirements are constantly shifting upwards. Why wouldn't you be mentally ill when you're expected to go through 16+ years of schooling just to get the most boring job on the face of the planet that can be taken away from you for one mistake? These kids know that most of their lives will be mind-numbing tedium with random pockets of personal tragedy. I think it's pretty reasonable to be anxious, depressed, etc. when you see that looking wall of anti-enjoyment coming up on you.

Agreed. There are a lot more things in our world today that exacerbate mental health issues. The inability to turn off is a huge issue for everyone, but can be specifically problematic for someone who already has issues turning off (anxiety).

Additionally, its much easier to be open about mental health these days than it was even 10 years ago. Is it more prevalent? Maybe, maybe not, but its definitely discussed more. That could be for a number of reasons. Maybe health professionals are over diagnosing it, maybe there is an actual uptick in mental health issues. Personally, I think its because its so much more accepted to reach out for help.

Up until the late 90s, if you had depression/anxiety you just buried it down and drowned it in alcohol/drugs. You didn't tell anyone about it and you likely just toughed it out until you got over it. Today, its totally acceptable (even cool) to have a therapist you talk to regularly. I view this as a good thing. I think that we may not have more mental health issues these days on whole, but we are more likely to have them diagnosed/get professional help - so the numbers make it look like we are in a spiral. That may not be the case.

Gen Z actually smokes less weed in adolescence than their millennial/genX counterparts. So maybe the solution is that these kids need to smoke more weed.

correct

Maybe Gen Z is depressed because their Boomer grandparents are hell bent and determined to soak up all of the wealth, resources, and opportunities before finally shuffling off of this mortal coil. It’s hard to be happy when all that you will inherit is a dirty, violent, irreparable world that is massively in debt because your grandparents were wasteful, entitled, and didn’t like paying taxes.

Without numbers, it's a pointless exercise. But since everyone else is naming their favorite hobbyhorse issue, I'll point to ultra-processed food and a complete lack of exercise, both well known to increase mental health issues. Throw in alcohol abuse and there you go.

Your source for that claim? My source:

nih.gov

Marijuana and hallucinogen use among young adults reached all-time high in 2021

NIH-supported study also found past-month vaping levels rebound after early pandemic drop.

Open link

In no particular order:

social media

im poorer than my parents despite making more than them

unlikely to ever own a house

knowing I have to work 40 hrs a week for the rest of my life with little to no purpose

dating apps and dating in general is terrible at the moment

everything in the media/news/politics is negative nowadays

It’s hard to feel motivated and excited about the future

You think weed is the reason for mass shootings?

social media and gaming.

we aren't good anymore at face to face social contact even though we desperately need it. And the fakeness of social media is very damaging to kids.

And games have taught us not to be resilient. If you die in a game, you get a restart witht he push of a button. In real life when things go awry we can't handle having to pick ourselves up and keep going.

And of course the classic making mental illness a virtue. Tell at a class assembly a person has bulimia and she gets a standing O. Tell a class assembly someone is healthy mind healthy body and you get blank stares. Adolescents will want the standing O and copycat.

We've "become" such a violent species?!?!? WTF? Homo sapiens has ALWAYS been extremely violent, and has always been full of all the negative traits you describe. There is plenty in your post which is valid but not sure why you appear to think all this is a recent phenomena.