 Hey SectorGoes and welcome back to another video. You might have heard that on average there's an ever-increasing amount of teenagers and young adults who are sad or depressed. Perhaps you are a young person or have young people in your life that you love and care for and are wondering why this is the case. In today's video, we'll be looking at some of the reasons why so many young people are unhappy. 1. Comparison with others Do you find yourself endlessly scrolling through social media, absorbing content from these various platforms? Comparison with others has become even easier with how accessible social media is, which can be dangerous for young people. According to Professor Derek Wurz of UBC Okanagan, viewing images and updates that selectively portray others positively may lead social media users to underestimate how much others actually experience negative emotions and lead people to conclude that their own life with its mix of positive and negative feelings is by comparison not as good. This decrease of self-esteem can lead you wondering why you're not enough. It's important to remember that not everything we see on social media is 100% authentic and everyone's life is unique. Constantly comparing can leave anyone feeling dissatisfied and unhappy because we are reaching for an unachievable standard. 2. Lack of gratitude Not focusing on your blessings and all the good things in life can contribute to an overall sense of unhappiness. Everyone, young, old, poor or rich, is capable of practicing gratitude. Oprah Winfrey, best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, stated, be thankful for what you have. You'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never ever have enough. If you solely focus on achieving the next big thing or acquiring something you don't have, you will constantly feel as if you're falling short and the unhappy as a result. It is in human nature to always be reaching toward an unknown, a greater which we don't have by gratitude if nurtured can ground us. Rather than focusing on what you don't have and laugh, how about taking a moment to think about all the things you do have? 3. Fear of failure Do you find that fear of failure stops you from living your best laugh? Some people are so frightened of making mistakes that they never step outside their comfort zone. As children, so many people would climb the highest trees they could find, but as adulthood creeps in, we can lose that bravery and don't set such high ambitions. In reality, life is filled with failures, big and small. There are day to day and long-term defeats that we must persevere through. If we are faced with fear every time this happens, our lives would become ridden with anxiety, decreasing our happiness. According to licensed psychologist Guy Winch, people unconsciously sabotage themselves when their motivation to avoid failure exceeds their motivation to succeed. This mentality is always going to limit your full potential, so instead, why not consider the approach that trying and not succeeding might be better than not trying at all? Maybe you'll even get it the next time. 4. Living in the past or future Often when people ruminate too much on the past, this can create feelings of regret, grief and overthinking what ifs. In contrast, living too far in the future can cause anxiety and fear of the big unknown. Do you relate to any of these feelings? While it is useful to consider our past and learn from our mistakes and thinking into the future can provide security and structure, focusing too much on these instead of being present can lead to unhappiness. As difficult as it may be to accept, we cannot change the past or control the future, so it's unfeasible to always be focusing on it. Thinking about the present and living in the moment can ease your mind and allow you to enjoy your current life. You will begin to value the simpler things and cherish these moments, which is how life should be. 5. No time for themselves Life can feel very chaotic, and taking time to focus on self-care and things you enjoy is important. Whilst this may look different to everyone, we all benefit from spending time on activities that bring us joy, whether it's watching your favorite TV reruns or spending time outdoors. For instance, a group of medical students partook in an online questionnaire designed to measure self-care, perceived stress, and quality of life. The results suggest that self-reported engagement in self-care activities is associated with a decrease in the strength of the relationship between perceived stress and quality of life in medical students. Through self-care, they were able to compensate for the stress they were experiencing. Keeping work and personal time separate allowed them to live happier lives. If you don't do this for yourself, it can start to take a toll on your mental health, so it's really important to prioritize spending time on and for yourself to maintain a healthy balance. 6. They hate their job Research suggests that on average, people spend one third of their time at work. It goes without saying that this is a lot of time, so if you hate your workplace or job position, this can really impact your outlook on life and overall happiness. If your happiness is being affected, it is also likely that you are going to experience a decline in your mental health. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, depression interferes with a person's ability to complete physical job tasks about 20% of the time and reduces cognitive performance about 35% of the time. This can cause an insecurity in your financial life, which can contribute even more to your overall unhappiness. Whilst it can be difficult to get out of a job, it can help to think about a job you would be passionate about working towards. If you don't like your job, what would you want to change? 7. They care too much about other's opinions Navigating young adulthood can be particularly challenging because it's easy to fall into the trap of overthinking other people's opinions. Laugh feels easier once we accept that not everyone we come across is going to like us, and that's okay. In fact, focusing on trying to satisfy everyone is draining and takes away from what we want to achieve. A famous quote by Virginia Woolf and English writer says the eyes of others are prison, their thoughts are cages. This presents the idea that any perception of ourselves from peers are often a trap, leading us to feel stuck in what we think are truths. Falling into this can be dangerous, as you lose sight of who you really are. You begin to question things that you have never thought twice of before, and this can affect your self-esteem and mental health. Try focusing on what you want from your laugh, rather than what other people might want. 8. They don't learn from their mistakes Learning from our mistakes can be crucial, as it helps us grow and change. This allows you to cultivate a growth mindset. Based on research conducted by American psychologist Carol Dweck, when people have a growth mindset, they take on challenges and learn from them, therefore increasing their abilities and achievements. Mistakes can nurture our understanding of the world and its concepts, growing us into more informed and experienced individuals. However, some people tend to find themselves in the same terrible situation and repeat self-destructing patterns. They might harbour a fixed mindset, where they feel stagnant and unable to improve and laugh. A challenge or mistake might frustrate and discourage them, and instead of trying to grow from it, they give up. The sooner you can notice these repeated patterns, the quicker you can break out of them and reduce the negative situations you find yourself in. 9. They think they don't deserve happiness Some people fall into the mindset that they don't deserve happiness. This may be due to a range of reasons, but most being an array of mental health issues. The National Institute of Mental Health states that feelings of guilt, worthlessness or helplessness can be hallmarks of depression. If you are feeling a prolonged sense of unworthiness of happiness, there's a chance that it is an indicator of a deeper mental health issue. To contrast, many may feel bouts of this emotion, where it is enlasting but instead intense and short. This feeling is an obvious barrier between you and your contentment. Everyone deserves the opportunity to experience happiness. By modifying the approach you have to yourself and your worth, you might help yourself discover the happy place you deserve. So there we have it, a list of reasons why so many young people are unhappy. Did you relate to any of the points we covered today? If so, please let us know in the comments below. And also, let us know if we've missed any other points. As always, thank you so much for watching. If you liked today's video, please like and subscribe. See you next time.