Mental health coaching is not therapy; rather, it’s a collaborative partnership focused on empowering individuals to achieve their mental wellness goals. Coaches work alongside clients, providing practical tools and strategies to enhance resilience, manage stress, and foster a positive mindset.

Gen Z has grown up with phones in their hand, social media, the 24-hour news cycle, and TVs in every restaurant, bar, and waiting room. They are constantly being stimulated by something, typically many things at once, and it is overwhelming. Imagine having a window open on your computer, with 10 separate tabs, and you’re trying to interact with all of them. That’s what the world is like for Gen Z. As educators, how does this translate to engaging them in academics when there is so much tugging at their attention? 

• Understand what makes you lose your patience. Take note of times when you feel like you’ve been quick to anger, or had a difficult time staying level-headed. If you can understand when these situations occur, you may be able to avoid them in the future. You can try de-escalating before you lose your patience, letting your teen know that you’re struggling to stay patient, or removing yourself from the situation.

• Understand why you lose your patience. If you’ve identified what makes you lose your patience, you can also understand why those things make you struggle to stay calm and rational. Is there a theme to all of the things you’ve identified? Identifying why those things make you lose your patience allows you to communicate that to your teen. Teenagers are smart – help them help you.

• Ensure there is open communication. Your teen may struggle to stay patient too. Create open communication in your home. Allow for space for your teen to tell you when they’re having a hard time staying patient. If they know they can share things with you, and you’ll be patient and calm in the face of whatever they share, they’re more likely to maintain a level of openness with you.

• Practice and plan for de-escalation. We will all have moments where despite our best efforts, we do lose our patience, fail to stay calm, or struggle to communicate rationally. Make a plan for when those moments happen. Find a strategy that works for you when you do lose your patience, and see if you can find one that works for your teen as well. Both of you need to be calm and reset in order to return to the original problem in a productive way.

• Turn that patience on yourself. Being patient with yourself leads to greater patience with your child. You will never be perfect as a parent, there is nothing called “Perfect”. You will not always have a kind, caring, response to your teen. You will never be able to keep the house conflict-free. Be patient with yourself. Be kind to yourself. Take a few moments.

Patience can be a difficult practice. Be patient with yourself as you grow, but ensure you’re committed to learning. If you’re interested in learning more about parenting and patience, visit GenZ&U!

Boca, D. D., Flinn, C., Verriest, E., & Wiswall, M. (2023, September 14). Parenting with patience: Parental incentives and child development. SSRN. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4568760 

The power of patience. Cornell Cooperative Extension. (2015a, August 10). https://warren.cce.cornell.edu/family-community/parent-pages/just-for-parents/the-power-of-patience 

Young, T., Rohwer, A., van Schalkwyk, S., Volmink, J., & Clarke, M. (2015). Patience, persistence and pragmatism: experiences and lessons learnt from the implementation of clinically integrated teaching and learning of evidence-based health care – a qualitative study. PloS one, 10(6), e0131121. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0131121

A majority of this generation believes that LGBTQ+ people should have the same rights as heterosexual individuals. 59% of them believe that all government and standardized forms should have gender-neutral options or the ability to use gender-neutral pronouns. And over half think the world is not accepting enough of gender-fluid or transgender individuals. 

Knowing these facts and statistics, how can we support them? We should be striving to be more like them, despite the differences between our generations. It is vital to keep an open mind and recognize that our society is changing and evolving. 48% of Gen Z think societal change is a good thing, compared with 15% who think it’s a bad thing. 

Genzandu isn’t just another run-of-the-mill life coaching service; it’s a transformative experience tailored to meet your unique needs and goals. Led by a team of dedicated and experienced therapists, Genzandu has earned a reputation as one of the best in the business for good reason.

a. Your parent may occasionally be angry – how do you deal with it as a teenager, Here are three things you can try to handle your parent’s anger:

1. Approach your parents directly and ask them about their anger. Ask them what’s bothering them, and try to listen and understand their perspective. 
2. Take care of yourself first – your parents may be unwilling to explain their anger and shut down your questions. It’s okay to take care of you when this happens. 
3. Look for external support. Turn to peers, teachers, or other family members, and let them know what’s going on. Recognize their value.

You are allowed to stand up for yourself in the face of your parent’s anger. Share with them about how hurtful the words are and the impact on your mental health.

Virginia is not only known for its rich history and stunning landscapes but also for its thriving community of individuals dedicated to personal development. By obtaining your Life Coach Certification in Virginia, you immerse yourself in an environment conducive to learning and growth.

Social media is also wonderful for education and social awareness. News spreads faster than ever before, and people can interact with numerous opinions and topics at the tap of a comment section. Headlines are accessible and present, and easy to share with friends. Educational content is now a dime a dozen, and you can find a page or community dedicated to any interest you like, or social platforms designed to help teens succeed in school, and later, in life. 

However, social media has a dark side that psychologists are only just beginning to understand. There are multiple studies that show that the higher the time spent on social media, the greater the risk for depression. This cannot be linked to a single social media platform, but it is clear that the more time spent on social media in general, the greater the risk for depression. We know that Gen Z is the most depressed generation ever – up to 29% of Gen Zers report feeling depressed. Social media is not the only cause – the world’s current financial state, current global affairs, the political climate, and more also influence the way Gen Z is feeling – but for parents, social media may be the only feasible thing that they can influence. 

We understand that social media breeds comparison and dishonesty; rates of eating disorders and body dysmorphia are rapidly increasing in young people. Many point to the unrealistic life standards that people consistently perpetuate on social media, and the ability to photoshop, pose, filter, and light things to perfection. Social media is nothing but a snapshot of people’s lives – but because of its prevalence, it can seem to be a representation of the whole thing. 

How do you balance interacting with something that holds potential value in the form of connection, education, community, and awareness, with something that also increases the risk for depression, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and comparison? 

The answer is that scholars don’t know yet – social media is still new; there haven’t been enough scientific studies on the way that people interact with media to say that a specific method works for warding off the negatives. That does not mean there aren’t strategies to mitigate its impact.

Many parenting experts agree that one of the best ways to mitigate the pitfalls of social media is to create a strong alliance with your teen. Scrutinizing their behavior, butting into their lives constantly, or hovering over their media use will do nothing but cause them to retreat, and hide things from you more. If you want your teen to share with you what’s going on in their lives, and that includes their social media presence, it needs to be made clear that you are a source of love, care, and support. You will not judge them for the content they post or engage with, and you will not force them to show it to you. Allow them to come to you if they need to.

If you are worried that your teenager is engaging in harmful content online – such as interacting with groups that express hate, potentially bullying another individual, or acting in ways that may harm themselves, it is time to get a professional involved. Hovering over them or overly scrutinizing their behavior, will get you nowhere but with a sneakier teen, who is better at hiding what’s going on.

Other than being a safe resource as parents what else can we do? We can educate ourselves on social media – learn how to interact with the platforms our teens love and hate, and how to use them effectively. Go beyond Facebook and LinkedIn. Learn how to create an Instagram account and how to like, comment, share, and save posts. Create a TikTok, and learn what each tab means, and what a page is for you. Browse YouTube, and understand what popular channels look like. Create a Twitter and see what celebrities are up to. The message here isn’t one of encouraging people to adopt a social media presence; but to understand what one looks like and how to navigate it, knowing it will never go away. We cannot be effective and helpful in an environment we do not understand; as parents, we should be going out of our way to understand it.

It’s a challenging time for your teen themselves; their bodies and minds are changing rapidly. They’re discovering new freedoms on the daily, and venturing further and further into the world. They may be actively preparing for the future, acquiring new worldviews, exploring careers, and learning how to be an adult. They are also constantly navigating difficult social dynamics, and shifting expectations. If your child is Gen Z, there is a political and financial crisis as well as a world that is consistently experiencing some kind of conflict. And among all this, they are trying to navigate boundaries with their parents – finding a place between healthy independence, and safe reliance on authority and parental figures. 

Your teen may set new boundaries as the relationship evolves – the bedroom door may be closed and you may be asked to knock before you enter now when it was previously always open. They may be more private with what they share about their friends or school or maybe less free with their emotional expression. As a parent, this can be challenging. They’re your child, your baby, why aren’t they sharing with you?

I urge you to take a step back and look at things from your teen’s point of view. Your teen is trying to set some healthy boundaries – they are no longer at the point in their lives where their parents curate everything or have deep involvement in all aspects of their lives. Privacy and autonomy are becoming more important to them. To them, their parents wanting to know every little detail about their lives may not feel caring; it may feel invasive. 

It’s understandable that you may be hurt by these changes – it can be difficult to watch someone you used to have free exploration with, tighten their reigns. But I can assure you, this is a healthy thing. 

Many of you ask, what if the boundaries my teen sets are unhealthy? What if they tell me nothing about their lives at all, or I can sense something is wrong? This is where I encourage a few different steps. First, make it known to your child that they can come to you at any time with any topic, and you will not punish them. If they fear retaliation for discussing something with you, they never will! It will stay hidden, and you’ll never hear about anything. You are welcome to open a conversation with your teenager, and express your concern – but be careful in expressing your concern that you do not pry, and you do not assume you know what is going on. That may cause them to shut down again. 

If all else fails, consider professional intervention. There is no shame in utilizing therapy or other mental health resources to help you and your teen navigate this period together – it’s a challenging phase of life, and needing outside help does not mean you have failed; it simply means working through it alone wasn’t the right solution.

It is helpful to set some boundaries with your teen during this period as well – for example, one night a week there is a no-phone session, where you and your family sit down for dinner without devices. Maybe, one night a week is date night for you and your spouse, and you ask your teen to respect that time. You could even begin closing your bedroom door, and asking your teen to knock before they walk in!

It’s important to know that although not adults yet, they have a much better understanding of the world than we think. Talking to them in adult language and treating them as though they are an adult who can understand these complex dynamics instills confidence in them and reminds them that we have their backs; we are not trying to infantilize them, but rather empower them to explore this changing dynamic with us.  

Embarking on a journey towards self-improvement often involves seeking guidance from professionals. Life coaching and therapy are two avenues that offer distinct approaches to support individuals in their quest for personal growth and mental well-being.

Importance of Seeking Professional Guidance

Acknowledging the significance of professional guidance sets the stage for understanding the unique roles that life coaches and therapists play in the lives of those seeking positive change.