Dora Mekouar

“ Mikalsen says more of her patients are concerned about school shootings and the lockdown drills they practice at school.
“I’ve been a psychologist for about twenty years and this is the first year that I now have patients who have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from school lockdowns,” she says. “Before, it was you hide and now the hiding is not working, so now it’s attack the shooter and everybody’s like, ‘I can’t attack anybody. I’m too scared.' And they’re supposed to be climbing on desks and throwing things and they’re practicing that in the classroom.” ”

“ When I was getting anxiety, super-irrational thoughts were running through my head all the time. Things like, ‘You’re never going to be happy, things are never going to get better'...It’s really easy to mask whatever inner issues are going on by being a super social, outgoing person, drinking a lot. ”

“ But I think we can reach out to moderate Democrats, even liberals — but just not progressive liberals maybe — but I definitely see a way forward.”
The results of the survey of young evangelicals appears to confirm increased openness on the part of Gen Z conservatives.
"Young evangelicals are frankly just more peaceable with others than older generations are. Our study found that, for example, they're more likely to be engaged with people of different faiths than their faith leaders encourage them to be,” Singer says. ”

“ A young man votes in midterm elections at the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia, November 8, 2022. Driven by concerns about climate change, public education and, to a lesser extent, access to abortion, 21-year-old Ava Alferez made sure to vote in the 2022 midterm elections. ”

“ Everyone gets anxious some of the time, but that anxiety is usually temporary. However, for a person with an anxiety disorder, the feeling doesn't go away and can worsen over time to the point where it might trigger headaches, chronic pain, stomach issues, immune system suppression and disrupted sleep. ”

“ College-related anxiety is rising, according to a 2017 report from the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. The institute surveyed 8,264 incoming first-year students at 30 U.S. colleges and universities and found that 39 percent reported frequently feeling anxious, but fewer than half of those students say they sought personal counseling in college. ”

“ Alferez is among millions of America’s youngest voters who voted in near-record numbers during the 2022 midterms, breaking heavily for Democrats, and thwarting an anticipated ‘red wave’ that many expected would hand Republicans a significant majority in Congress. The strong showing signals that Gen Z is a rising political force. ”

“ Today, one in three teens between the ages of 13 and 18 has an anxiety disorder.
“The current rate of anxiety is 31 percent in adolescents," says Dr. Elena Mikalsen, head of the Psychology Section at the Children's Hospital of San Antonio in Texas. “It’s an epidemic. ”

“ CIRCLE’s early analysis shows that young voter turnout may have delivered key wins for Democrats in some battleground states, but that doesn’t mean either political party can take the youth vote for granted. ”

“ College student Ava Alferez, 21, of Virginia, says she votes in every election. (Photo courtesy Ava Alferez) That appears to be true of young voters across the political spectrum, according to the results of the survey of young evangelicals. ”