“Health” is a funny word. As has been pointed out by others, it often means treatment of illness, not well-being. “Mental health” means treating mental problems. For me, “health,” with its focus on treatment and screening, is necessary but not nearly enough.
For me, the key question is: how do we foster well-being in ourselves and the next generation? How do we enhance our natural wellness, prevent depression and anxiety, and help ourselves and our children to flourish in life?
One way to prevent depression in teens is to change our approach– as a community– to their education.
Commonly, we put the emphasis on the individual, noting what each one needs to do differently. While it is true that positive personal change is powerful, when you look at the person in the context of her family- community- and school-system, you see that when she makes positive changes, often the system around the individual will pull her back and encourage her to revert to old mindsets and behaviors.
If the system is not designed to encourage well-being– and for most communities our approach to education is not– it is difficult for the individual to sustain positive changes.
In my study of adolescent learning, I found that our current system reinforces factors that cause depression (lack of control, defeat and pessimism, as well as focus on rank and status). For more detail, please see my study.
So, if we want to systematically prevent depression in teens, we—parents, voters, and educators– need to change our approach to education. [Note: Thrive Wellesley is an example of a positive community change initiative.]
To begin with, three false myths affect the way we view and talk about education: (1) Not being a top student means you are not hardworking, motivated, or intelligent; (2) Being a top student leads to a great life; and (3) Our approach to education is best for our teens.
Students in the bottom of their classes have strengths and gifts that are well-suited to successful lives, but often these abilities are not amplified and enhanced in school. Nor are some strengths of the best students. While top students can thrive in school, they are also encouraged to focus on factors that correlate with anxiety and depression: rank, teacher opinion, being the best, or looking smart.*
World, corporate, and scientific leadership – as well as the future economy — depend on a far broader set of abilities than those we currently emphasize in school. Changing our approach, and actively engaging diverse gifts and strengths, not only leads to teen well-being, it also prepares the next generation for the world they will run.
To put more emphasis on well-being and setting our kids up to thrive in life, it is essential that we not only teach students the tools for positive personal change. We also need to create positive change in the system around them.
* Jennifer Crocker at University of Michigan, Janice Templeton, at Fort Lewis College, and Barry Schwartz , author of “The Paradox of Choice,” have written about these factors.