My husband feeds me little bits of interesting information regularly. Sometimes it’s just a goofy joke from Facebook. Other times it’s something he read in a medical journal. Yesterday, he told me how young people are more likely to have psychotic breaks due to the stress of all the transitions they go through. Young adults in their late teens and early twenties face a lot of changes and challenges. Moving away from home for college, increased responsibilities and pressures, career planning, paying their own bills, lack of sleep and proper nutrition, hormonal fluctuations, moral quandaries, relationship issues, all can lead to feelings of instability. Some young people face additional challenges like learning disabilities, social anxiety, alcohol or drug dependencies, financial hardships, health problems, or low self esteem. It’s amazing that anyone comes out of this phase without getting bruised!
I’ve been thinking about how, as parents we can assist our young men and women through these minefields without self-destructing. Prayer is the first thing that comes to mind. We have to surrender our young people into God’s hands and constantly remind ourselves that God is in control. I’m reminded of the Israelites facing the Red Sea while being pursued by the Egyptian army from the rear. God made a way, where there was no way.
As parents, we also need to be respectful and accepting of our young people. Their choices might not make sense to us, yet we need to acknowledge that they have the right to choose. We also have to be available and on-call. Young adults might not need parents as much as young children, but sometimes we are their only source of stability.
I don’t have much experience in these things and as usual, most of this writing is just notes to myself…
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