The God–Brain Connection
06 Dec 2024
Exploring reasons behind the rise in mental health problems in young people
Social media has a lot to answer for. But one thing that it can’t take all the blame for is the rise in mental health problems for young people.
Longstanding trend
Smartphones in particular have been blamed for the rising rates of depression and anxiety, and they may well have played a significant part, not least where hours spent scrolling through feeds can detract from more healthy pursuits, create ‘FOMO’ (Fear of Missing Out), exacerbate comparisons to others, and which, sadly, has created a whole new channel for bullying to thrive. Graphs have been highlighted that show a significant increase in youngsters’ psychological distress after 2012, when smartphones became widespread.
Yet a recent study by Roland Paulson of Lund University has highlighted that there has been a much longer upward trend in self-reported low mood from as early as the 1980s, across various countries. He reports that, according to a review in the journal Psychological Medicine, “the reported prevalence of long-standing mental health conditions among four- to 24-year-olds increased sixfold in England between 1995 and 2014 and more than doubled in Scotland between 2003 and 2014”. It also points out that Jean Twenge, one of the most prominent critics of youth smartphone use, wrote in 2000 that the “average American child in the 1980s reported more anxiety than child psychiatric patients in the 1950s.”
Paulson wrote an article in The Conversation suggesting that “increasing intolerance for uncertainty in modernity, a fixation – both individual and collective – on avoiding risk, intensifying feelings of meaninglessness in work and life more broadly and rising national inequality accompanied by growing status anxiety” were likely causes of what is now becoming a major crisis. And it would be remiss of a Covid lockdown sceptic like me to fail to point out that the major upheaval of school closures and state-sponsored fearmongering greatly impacted the mental health of our younger generation (and the older one too in many cases). Indeed, according to The Telegraph, “An official survey earlier this year found one in five children are now suffering from ‘probable mental health disorders’, compared with one in eight before the pandemic.”
There are two major significant factors,... both of which are based upon departing from what God intended for the flourishing of humanity.
But the underlying factors below this are much deeper than these. For although it has an impact, inequality has always been with us, and worse at many periods of time. And for many, work has often felt meaningless and monotonous.
In reality, I think that there are two major significant factors which have predated smartphones and lockdowns – both of which are based upon departing from what God intended for the flourishing of humanity.
Teaching God’s ways
“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds… Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deut 11:18-19)
These words of God, given through Moses, highlight the importance of teaching our children about God’s commands, and about His goodness. The chapter reminds the Israelites to remember what God had already done in His love for them, and instructs them to teach this, and His ‘guide for life’, to the next generation, who will otherwise grow up in ignorance.
In generations past, all children were given scripture lessons at school, most were sent to Sunday School, and many received at least basic Christian morality lessons at home. Children knew that God created them – and that He watched what they did. They grew up with more of a sense of value, and of how to live in relation to others in their community, along with a sense of accountability for their actions. Now, quite simply, very few young people have grown up with any input at all from the Christian faith. Schools often avoid it as much as they can, parents don’t know the basics themselves, and the only children who go to Sunday school are those with parents who attend church with them.
Modern life is indeed stressful – despite the safety net of Universal Credit, fully-shelved supermarkets, and rapid transport, to name but a few benefits of modern living. There are, indeed, many uncertainties – and 24-hour news in our pockets heightens the stress that many feel. In addition, the pressures to ‘fit in’ morph and change – what was once acceptable in society no longer is – creating additional anxiety.
But how on earth are young people meant to cope with peer pressure and the prevalence of horrors such as ‘sexting’ without a profound sense of being created by a loving Father God?
But how on earth are young people meant to cope with peer pressure and the prevalence of horrors such as ‘sexting’ without a profound sense of being created by a loving Father God? How can they navigate uncertainty without knowing that God is in overall control of the world? How can they resist violence and untruth without understanding that God gave us a strong moral code to guide us and watches what we do. Even without salvation and a close relationship with our Saviour, the cultural understanding of faith was once able to help society flourish, and people to live in a way that promoted wellbeing. Now that is all but lost – and our young are paying the price.
Eating as God intended
The other factor that I believe to be significant is the way in which the vast majority of young people, from their very infancy, have eaten predominantly unhealthy, ultra-processed food. Some studies suggest that up to 90% of teenagers’ diets are now ultra-processed – made up with artificial, lab-made preservatives, emulsifiers, flavour-enhancers and sweeteners. Science is rapidly cottoning on about the dangers of eating these items, but some, including Christians, were sounding the alarm back as far back as the 1990s, highlighting the importance of eating food that God created, as He created it – untainted by added chemicals1.
The effect on physical health can be seen even through the generations, with post-war baby boomers – who were the first to eat foods like this, in small quantities – living with greater disease than their parents’ generation; with children of the 70s and 80s who ate significantly more UPFs now living with more chronic disease; and health problems affecting young adults in even greater proportions.
Now, the clear link between these foodstuffs and mental health problems is being made, as scientists have unpicked the way that the gut and the brain are connected. Scientists are understanding more how the bacteria in our gut affect what happens in our heads, and our mental state – and that the vital balance of bacteria is impacted by what we eat, in particular, the ultra-processed food-like substances we have been filling our bellies with. It has even been demonstrated that some of the symptoms of neurological conditions such as autism and ADHD are exacerbated by a poor diet, impacting the gut bacteria, and making the conditions more challenging to manage.
Yet we, in our arrogance as a society, have thought that we could improve on what God created, which has served to damage our bodies and minds.
Quite simply, God gave us many wonderful fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and (if responsibly farmed) animal produce to eat – with some additional guidelines in the Bible. Yet we, in our arrogance as a society, have thought that we could improve on what God created, which has served to damage our bodies and minds. The younger generation is now bearing the brunt of this fallout.
Helping our young people
I write from personal experience. During the Covid lockdowns, I had to support one child through acute mental health challenges, with little professional help due to lack of provision. After significant research, the problems were totally reversed through prayer, targeted emotional support and stability, and eliminating nearly all ultra-processed foods from the whole family’s diet, along with probiotic and calming supplements. (The improved diet – the old diet would have been considered healthy in previous times – also totally reversed another child’s alopecia.)
We have, however, much of a generation growing up with ongoing issues with mental health. How can we help them?
Firstly, being aware of the dangers of the modern, ultra-processed diet is a start. We can do what we can to promote healthy eating, warning those we know of the dangers of artificial additives (and, to a large extent, excess sugar). Though they might go a bit too far, the government's new junk food advertising restrictions are well-meaning, and could prompt discussions for all ages around how best to look after our health.
Second, and this is where the Church has its main responsibility, doing everything we can to support efforts to share God’s word with the younger generation. We can share the gospel in suitable ways with the children and young people we know personally, demonstrating it in a way that shows the difference that God makes in our lives. And, not least, we can pray for our children and young adults.
...doing everything we can to support efforts to share God’s word with the younger generation.
And there are various ways to get involved with children and young people in our communities, whether supporting church youth groups, volunteering with groups that go into schools to support assemblies and RE lessons, or donating to, or praying for, organisations such as Scripture Union or other faith-based youth and children’s charities, etc.
As an example, I’ve spent a lot of time this week volunteering with another congregation’s annual ‘Christmas Journey’, where all the town’s Year 2 children come to the parish church class by class to go back in time and meet all the key Bible characters – including a real baby ‘Jesus’. (The local churches here regularly work together for evangelism and outreach.) Many of the children learn about the Christmas story – and what it really means – for the first time in their lives; evidence shows that it really impacts many of them, and they recall it years after. The schools welcome the trip out as part of their RE curriculum,
We can’t turn back the clock – but we can prioritise sharing God’s good news to society, and really change the downward spiral of depression our country is facing. It may be the only hope we have.
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Notes
1. For example, What the Bible says about Healthy Living, by Rex Russell, M.D., 1996, Regal Books; The Maker’s Diet, by Jordan S. Rubin, N.M.D., PhD, 2004, Siloam
Additional Info
Author:
Kathryn Price