What can we do for Generation Z?
Generation Z—those born between 1997 and 2015 (6-24 years old)—have been through a lot. A worldwide pandemic, an increasingly divided political climate, the social media boom, in school/out of school/in school/out of school, and the stress all of this causes in homes throughout the world. We have seen the effects in our own kids, as they try to adapt to this new world—sometimes withdrawing, sometimes dramatically acting out with new behaviors.
Recently, we had Dr. Darin Mazepa on our podcast. He is a Network Chiropractor who is the Clinical Director of Vitality Natural Healthcare, a holistic health clinic in Scott’s hometown of Emmaus, PA. Dr. Darin has seen many of his patients come through his doors, with a kind of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as a result of experiences during the pandemic—and often they are just kids.
Pandemic Traumatic Stress Disorder and ADHD
We think there is a new widespread PTSD in the world—it could be called Pandemic Traumatic Stress Disorder. We may see it in kids, we may see it in ourselves. Renowned Addiction and ADHD Specialist Dr. Gabor Maté, who was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at 50 years of age, writes in his book Scattered: How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates and What You Can Do About It that ADHD is an adaptation to the experience of life stressors. As an infant of a mother under unbearably stressful conditions in a concentration camp in WWII, Maté believes he learned to withdraw mentally from the stress of the world around him, and that eventually this developed into ADHD. He elaborates further that it doesn’t have to be as dramatic of a stress as a Nazi concentration camp—if a child witnesses and feels their parents’ stress—that’s enough for an adaptation to occur. Unfortunately, the stress of a worldwide pandemic is plenty to cause these kinds of adaptations in kids and adults throughout the world. Now—what can we do about it?
A Post-Pandemic Prescription for Stress
Both Dr. Mazepa and Dr. Maté give great ideas on how to recover from the stress that has grown in us and our children during the pandemic. We combined some of these ideas into the following Post-Pandemic Prescription for Stress. If you don’t have children, then try giving this to your own inner child :
Take your kids and get outside. Connecting with nature is a great de-stressor, and it gets you and your kids away from smartphones and other devices.
As businesses, venues, and other activities continue to open up after lockdown periods—get out there and do things with your kids. Show them that it is safe to be out in the world.
Drink enough water. Try getting up and drinking a glass of water with your kids first thing in the morning, to get a good start on hydration for the day.
Focus on getting better sleep. Dim the lights an hour before sleep, and trade smartphones for books before bed.
Try to limit smartphone use where you can during the day, and substitute with some kind of physical movement.
Take responsibility for managing your own stress levels, to make a less stressful environment for your kids. Try to set a good example with your kids by meditating regularly, and even ask if they want to join in. Show them that there are tools to deal with stress, and that you are using them.
We know—who needs extra work as a parent—or even as a person without kids, but these are unprecedented times. We need to match them with new, unprecedented levels of trying to reduce stress levels—for our own health, and for the health of the next generation. Let’s leave them with the tools they will need to survive and thrive in this new world.
Until next time
Scott and Lennart