Mindfulness In Adolescence, Or The Search For Water In The Desert
Being a teenager in the year 2021 is difficult, very difficult. Almost a continuous act of resistance, I would say. I want to start these lines with this idea, since I believe that it does not hurt to break a small or large spear in favor of all those who this year are going through this vital stage that is already in itself, and without global pandemics in between. , is defined with the word “crisis”.
We could see it as a kind of matryoshka of overlapping crises that surround each other. A global crisis, a national one, an educational system in crisis, families in crisis and adolescents in life crisis due to the stage in which they have to live and also living together in the background of this onion doll that has become the year 2020 and the beginning of 2021.
From the first moment we decided to write about developmental psychology or the vital evolution of the human being, Adolescence has been the quintessential stage of change Moment of transition, it has been said, in which the boy or girl transitions towards adulthood, and which is marked by a series of palpable physical and psychological changes.
Until a few years ago, this moment in life was accompanied by a kind of generational guide. The adolescent’s ancestors and his immediate environment understood that the infant was being left behind and was beginning to appear in that family member. a small adult who had to be accompanied towards maturity
Implicit rituals that marked this change were common and gave the adolescent signs that the time to grow up was approaching. They could consist of an act as everyday as being able to play cards with your father and his friends, learning to use a razor or sitting at family gatherings in the area of the table where the adults ate. All of them were community symbols that indicated to the adolescent that while his body was changing, his environment was also placing him in a different social place.
As the years have passed and life has accelerated exponentially, these community “rites” have fallen into decline and That guiding attitude that the immediate environment provided has been diluted in a sea of haste, demand and lack of awareness In recent times, young adults have lost a very valuable orientation in the chaotic and uncertain hormonal sea that comprises the moment in which they live.
It is precisely the speed with which we adults live, our minds busy with constant rumination and the emotional disconnection that prevents us from seeing others, which leave our adolescents sold on the hyperstimulation of a technologically voracious and extremely labyrinthine world when directing attention towards growth and well-being.
With their prefrontal cortex immersed in the neuronal pruning typical of this evolutionary stage, boys and girls have less capacity to manage their impulses; Furthermore, their critical thinking is emerging but still immature, which means that they become cannon fodder for a system that will try to disconnect them and accelerate them by seeking to follow the prevailing inertia.
The importance of Mindfulness in this stage of life
It is in the face of this current drama, where the ancient essence of activities such as meditation are presented as more than appropriate tools to accompany young adults who are currently living refugees and isolated behind the protection of digital screens.
From Vitalizes we make a proposal to address this challenge in therapeutic work with these girls and boys, wanting to combine individual processes with a group space in which, accompanied by a professional, a safe place can be created for them to overcome this defense of isolation and disconnection. emotional and favor, in the company of other boys and girls who find themselves in the same situation, the rediscovery of one’s own body as a drum where all the experiences resonate and a vital guide to the path they must travel to begin a conscious, regulated and meaningful adult life.
Author: Arturo Lecumberri, psychologist at Vitaliza.
