Being a teenager has never been easy but these days seems harder than ever. In addition to the ordinary stresses of coming of age — a global pandemic, war in Europe, mass shootings, economic insecurity, and 24/7 exposure to social media are all contributing to what has been described as a youth mental health crisis.

“Adolescents today are more stressed than ever, exhibiting record levels of stress-related internalizing symptoms, such as anxiety and depression,” says Jeremy Jamieson, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Rochester.

A new study published in Nature and co-authored by Jamieson offers a promising strategy to help adolescents counter stress and boost resilience. The one-time 30-minute intervention involves two key components:

1. A Learning Mindset 

This is based on the idea that ability is not set in stone but can be developed through effort, effective strategies, and support from others. As part of the process, students were presented with scientific information about the malleability of the brain. They learned that the brain is like a muscle and when you use it, it grows stronger and smarter. They also learned about the importance of flexibility and deploying new strategies and asking for help when they feel stuck. To help them internalize the message, they were asked about how they might use a learning mindset in their own lives, such as in math class or on the sports field.

To encourage your adolescent to develop a learning mindset, model a learning mindset. Welcome challenges and stick to them, try new strategies to problem solve, ask for advice when you are stuck, and use mistakes to learn and grow. Have conversations with the following questions in mind:

• “What is a challenge you have faced?”
• “How did you overcome that challenge?”
• “What advice can you give to someone facing a challenge?”
• “How can you use what you learned to overcome a current or future challenge?”

2. A stress-can-be-enhancing mindset

This is predicated on the idea that our physiological responses to stress such as sweaty palms, racing heart, deep breathing, and feeling anxious are not harmful but instead can be viewed as positive changes because they mobilize energy and deliver oxygen to our tissues. Rather than something to be avoided, these physical experiences mean our body is ready to take on and overcome a challenge. The stress-can-be-enhancing mindset messaging encourages adolescents to see the activation of their psychophysiological stress response, which often follows engagement with challenging stressors, as a helpful resource that energizes their pursuit of valued goals, rather than as a problem.

To encourage your adolescent to develop a stress-can-be-enhancing mindset, remind them that stress is a normal and even defining feature of adolescence.

• Talk to them about how the stress the body feels when you face challenging experiences is also preparing you to learn from them.
• Discuss people they admire who became good at something who had to face and overcome struggles.
• Have conversations about your own stressful experiences and what you learned from them.

Students who embraced these mindsets described feeling more liked, satisfied, and good about themselves. They also reported feeling less insecure, less anxious, and less disconnected. Their grades also improved. Changing how teens think about stress, and the ability to handle it, is at the core of the intervention.

In the play, The Cursed Child, Draco says, “People say parenting is the hardest job in the world — they’re wrong — growing up is. We all just forgot how hard it was.”

Today, growing up seems harder than ever. Thankfully there are tools we can provide to help children navigate these challenges with stamina, grace, and fortitude.

Transitions can be exciting but also stressful. In my experience, people tend to respond to major life changes in one of two ways: Denial or Distraction. Deniers cling to the past and are flooded with nostalgia. Distractors bury themselves in busywork, hoping to put the upheaval behind them as soon as possible.

Bruce Feiler, author of the bestselling book Life is in the Transitions: Mastering Change in a Nonlinear Age, has made a similar observation:

“When most people enter a lifequake, they feel overwhelmed and go to one of two extremes. They either make a 212-item to-do list and say, ‘I’ll get through it in a weekend,’ or they lie in a fetal position and say, ‘I’ll never get through it.’ Neither approach works.”

Feiler offers a healthier alternative plan for dealing with upheaval:

1. Lean into your feelings

Instead of sweeping emotions under the rug, use them as data points. What can you learn from them? How can they help you re-goal? Consider writing about how you are feeling or talking to someone.

2. Reach out

Navigating a transition alone makes it even harder. Seek wisdom from a friend, a colleague, a teacher, or even a stranger. Share your experience with others. Spread the wisdom you have acquired along the way.

3. Mark the occasion

According to Feiler, rituals are effective tools to help us navigate transition. Commemorate the change with a ceremony, a special meal, a toast, or lighting a candle. Rituals help us shed parts of ourselves we are ready to let go of and embrace a new beginning.

4. Be good to your body

When your routine is disrupted, it’s all the more important to take care of yourself. Prioritize sleep, eat nourishing meals, and build movement into your everyday routine. Feeling physically strong will help you stay mentally strong.

5. Get creative

Make the most of the fresh start by tapping into your creativity. Start a new hobby or personal project that engages your imagination and allows for growth and possibility. As Feiler says, “The simple act of imagining — a painting, a poem, a loaf of bread — allows us to imagine a better future.”

Transitions are often tough, messy and uncomfortable. They also mark new beginnings.

As Tom Stoppard remarked, “Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else.”

We may be creatures of habit but research suggests that the best way to boost our everyday happiness is to shake up our routine. According to a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, we feel happier when we have more variety in our daily lives. The researchers found that regularly going to novel places and having a wider array of experiences reliably boosts positive emotions.

Previous research has shown that rodents raised in “enriched environments” — environments where they are exposed to novel and diverse experiences — are more playful, relate better to fellow rodents, learn better, and demonstrate greater resilience to stress. As the study in Nature Neuroscience shows, the same principle seems to hold true for human beings.

Using GPS, the researchers tracked participants’ daily movement for 3 to 4 months. Each individual’s “roaming entropy” — their level of exploration — was quantified using the location data. Those with low roaming entropy stayed close to home. Those with high roaming entropy were more intrepid, frequently venturing beyond their neighborhood and exposed to novel situations. On days when participants had higher roaming entropy, they reported more positive emotions such as “happy,” “excited,” “strong,” and “relaxed.”

“Our results suggest that people feel happier when they have more variety in their daily routines—when they go to novel places and have a wider array of experiences,” explained Catherine Hartley, an assistant professor in New York University’s Department of Psychology and one of the paper’s co-authors.

The benefits of shaking things up linger — those who spent time in different locations and engaged in varied experiences on one day also felt more upbeat the following day.

Low roaming entropy may partially explain why lockdown was so challenging. It may also account for why some people find working from home to be draining or devitalizing. Being locked into a routine that limits exposure to new places, people, or things can take a toll. That said, fresh and diverse experiences can be had without venturing too far. Biking across town, visiting a museum, walking a different path, or trying a new skill are all ways to lean into the unfamiliar. Exploring the unknown has a powerful effect on mood. Take advantage of it. No need to become an intrepid explorer or climb Mount Everest. Just a little variety is enough to give you a boost.

Patients often tell me, “I am who I am.” I remind them that they are who they chose to be.

Bottom Line: As tempting as it is to retreat, remember that the most uplifting moments of the day come from venturing out into the world.