Mindfulness for young people, part 1
First, a correction for last week’s column on mindfulness meditation: I misquoted Gandhi. In the column, I quoted him as saying, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” But I didn’t research it, and just took someone else’s word for it. What Gandhi DID say was very close. He said:
“We but mirror the world. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do.”
So, it’s not so different from what I quoted incorrectly… it’s simply more complete and elegantly stated.
One of the things that I have had on my mind for a couple of years, has been the need for mindfulness and meditation for young people. I don’t mean only teenagers, but anyone from age eight, thru the ‘teens, and even older.
Among other things, I was a school teacher in Florida and in Georgia for a few years. And, I substitute taught in these locations as well. While teaching, I saw a lot of things happening that I now realize could have been smoothed out with mindfulness and meditation. And with the events of the last few months (i.e., COVID, home schooling, and all that), I believe it has become even more important.
This morning I watched a story on the news about the stress produced on teenagers. The enforced isolation, the worry about infection, the fact that some of their friends have contracted COVID and died or became “long haulers” (people who suffer from the debilitating effects of COVID for months)… all these things are causing major issues for these kids. Research by the CDC has shown an astounding increase in depression, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation (contemplating suicide) among young people in the period beginning in March of this year.
Think about this: in a survey conducted by the CDC, 11% of all respondents to the survey said they had “seriously contemplated” suicide during the pandemic. As bad as that is, more than twice as many (25%) of those aged 18 to 24 had those same thoughts.
I want to preface the next thing with this statement: I’m not anti-gun. I own guns, and I shoot. But there has been, for some reason, an uptick in the purchases of guns across the entire U.S. since COVID hit. So, just as a word to the wise: if you have kids around, keep your firearms safely put away so they are not easily available to these young people who may be feeling like their world is crumbling. And for that matter, if you have dangerous medications like pain pills or sleeping pills, keep them put away, too. The statistics show that most males commit suicide by methods such as guns or hanging, and more females use poisoning.
Now, in many school systems (if not most) kids are back in their respective classes, hopefully wearing PPE and keeping social distance. But that doesn’t stop the stress levels, the worry, and anxiety.
And let’s be honest: kids who are stressed, whether they are 6 years old or 18 years old, are less likely to do their work properly in class, to study, or do well on exams, and more likely to act out or get in trouble.
An article in “Spirituality & Health” (May/June 2020) that I read this week, spoke about a mindfulness and meditation program in a school, and noted that it had been helpful there. The students had been given five weeks of mindfulness training, twice a week, by a mindfulness coach who led them in 15-minute sessions, and who asked them to “cultivate compassion” by stopping to think before responding with violence on the playground.
I think my favorite part of the article was where they asked an 11-year old boy what mindfulness is. His reply? “It’s not hitting someone in the mouth.”
You know, to a stressed person of any age, if you can avoid responding to aggression or aggravation with violence, whether verbal or physical, is a major accomplishment.
My personal belief is that incorporating mindfulness and meditation into public schools, whether as a part of the regular school day or as an adjunct to after-school detention, could be a great way to help our students get through this challenging time more easily and more safely.
Next week, I want to talk about ways parents can assist their kids at home, whether it’s by direct involvement with mindfulness themselves, or by providing their kids with tools to help them be mindful.
And as always, please feel free to contact me with questions or comments about anything in my columns. My website info is below.