I imagine my former students, mostly girls, but even the boys, stewing in their dorms or little apartments afflicted by some sort of depression or despair, and I think how far removed from reality their thoughts and feelings are as they swirl around in their overstimulated brains.
Their public comments show them in a state of self destructive loneliness and blind to the bright side of their world. And isn't that just the birthing ground for many a poem or song and the reason it resonates for so many.
It's hard to believe that a part of them doesn't see the big picture, that they have many friends who would be happy to share in their experience, that they will certainly have good times sometime in the not-distant future, that maybe they're just seeking some connection that could be more honestly returned if they would just ask for or act on instead of wallowing in self pity.
I imagine riding a roller coaster of emotion and their flawed reasoning believing the cause is some preconceived idea of where that emotion is supposed to come from, like "the world has abandoned them just when they needed a friend" or some unrequited sentiment for someone, or a hundred other things, when it might just as likely be some normal neurological reaction so some typical out-of-whack behavior. Before picking the first idea that pops into mind, why not look outside the roller coaster first. Am I getting too little sleep? Too much? Is my diet balanced and healthy? Am I getting enough exercise (daily active lifestyle, several timeweekly of vigorous exercise for thirty minutes or more)? Am I spending enough time in physical contact with my friends? Too much? Am I spending enough time being still and quiet, away from social media and my phone and my computer, letting my brain unwind and reach a state of peace? Is there some natural change of hormones due to a change of lifestyle, chemical birth control, or diet, exercise, or life situation? Any of those imbalances could be wreaking havoc with emotions, saving you the need to pretend your life is somehow tragic. The only tragedy might just be your unkind treatment of your precious brain. Sometimes just admitting you don't know what's causing the feelings, and that it could just be some fluctuation of neurological balance can take the depressing edge off the feeling. Sometimes getting the rest of your life is on track, that over which you can control (as listed above) can put everything back in order. Sometimes just writing down the PLAN to get things back in order can relieve some of the suffering the emotions are causing you.
It's not their fault they don't know how to deal with the vicissitudes in life. We're so focused on test scores, the prescribed path to success (good grades in school, college, get a "good" job), etc. that we don't have time to spend enough time on understanding this crazy organism we find ourselves inhabiting. I think we should add a year of high school to learn how this thing works.
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