Generations Y and Z are more prone to anxiety than previous generations, says psychologist

Psychologist and author Lauren Cook gave an interview to CNN this Sunday (25), where she compared the anxiety crisis to the feeling of drowning. In her book “Anxious Generation – A guide to staying active in an unstable world”, 12 cases of the new generation Y and Z are reported, who have higher levels of propensity for anxiety.

One of these cases is that of a young Mexican named Luís, who was waiting for his turn at his clinic in Pasadena, California. Dr. Cook found him experiencing various emotions, including nervousness, shame, and embarrassment. Your patient has been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

The feeling of a crisis for patients

According to the psychologist, some of her patients who suffer from OCD report the sensation of a fire in their brains, but there is no extinguisher or anything that can put out the flames. An example of this is one of the practices that Luís had, which was washing his hands several times during the day, which caused wounds.

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_{One of Luís's habits was to wash his hands so much during the day that he caused wounds (Photo: reproduction/Getty Images Embed/Peter Dazeley)}

In the interview, Cook explains why he compares a panic attack to drowning, as it is something very scary to deal with, being a feeling of death for those who suffer from these crises. When asked about generations Y and Z being more prone to anxiety, she says that the high rates in these generations are attributed to several reasons, ranging from insecurity, financial difficulties to isolation and loneliness.

No prospects for the future

To CNN, Lauren says that the two generations have no future prospects, and this is because there is a lot of violence, political wars and global warming. Furthermore, she highlights that technology has influence by providing a lot of information, which causes people concern, as well as social networks, which provide a vision of a happy life.

In the psychologist's view, anxiety is a mix of genetic and environmental factors. However, she highlights that one can be more influential than the other, which leads to the amygdala, which is responsible for processing our emotions, as well as trauma or stressful events. In other cases, it may be the creation of families, the way we are raised to face the future, the importance of studies or excessive worry.

Featured photo: Generation Y and Z are more prone to anxiety compared to other generations, says psychologist (Reproduction/Getty Images Embed/Maria Korneeva)