Age of anxiety strikes at any age

Does anybody have a map?

Anybody maybe happen to know how the hell to do this? I don’t know if you can tell

But this is me just pretending to know

That’s a mother’s lament in “Dear Evan Hansen,” a Tony Awardwinning musical about teen suicide, depression and social media that manages to be both a sign of the times and a symbol of hope. and I can’t decide what to do. What if I make the wrong choice?”

For Baby Boomers rolling their eyes: This might be because parents spoonfed life’s realities to their children.

“When parents have tended to do the stuff of life for kids — the waking up, the transporting, the reminding about deadlines and obligations, the bill paying, the question asking, the decision making, the responsibility taking, the talking to strangers, and the confronting of authorities, kids may be in for quite a shock when parents turn them loose in the world of college or work,” LythcottHaims writes.

“They will experience setbacks, which will feel to them like failure. And, in a cruel twist of irony, they then won’t be able to cope with that failure very well, because they haven’t had much practice at failure, either.”

Friends from other generations can change your perspective. Older workers can get energized by younger colleagues, and can return the favor with reassurances. Such as: Yes, Millennials, you will make bad decisions, maybe hideous ones, and have bad luck, too. And you’ll obsess and you’ll overthink and you’ll do something ludicrously stupid that will embarrass you forever. But you’ll bounce back even stronger, just as people have for generations from things like bad investments, nasty bosses and dateless Valentine’s Days.

To ease anxiety, try these tips from the “Happier With Gretchen Rubin” podcast:

When worries keep you awake, write them down. Then let go until a more civilized hour.

If anxieties dominate your thoughts, set aside a time each week for worrying.

When you’re upset about something that’s quantifiable, like spending time with your children, keep a log. You may be doing more than you think.

I’ve got a problem

But it ain’t like what you think I drink because I’m lonesome And I’m lonesome ’cause I drink

Chris Stapleton might sing about “Whiskey and You,” but for most people, the problem isn’t too much whiskey. It’s not enough “you.”

Loneliness is at “epidemic” levels, health insurer Cigna says. In another study, 42% of Millennial women said they are more afraid of loneliness than a cancer diagnosis.

It’s not that people don’t have a mate, Johann Hari writes in “Lost Connections.” It’s that they don’t have anyone.

“Social scientists have been asking a crosssection of U.S. citizens a simple question for years: ‘How many confidants do you have?’ ” he writes. “They wanted to know how many people you could turn to in a crisis, or when something really good happens to you. When they started doing the study several decades ago, the average number of close friends an American had was three. By 2004, the most common answer was none.”

Loneliness hits all ages: a 22yearold in a first job, a 44yearold divorcee, a 66yearold retiree, an 88yearold widower. Living with someone isn’t necessarily a cure,