Youth on Edge: the teenaging or sickening dilemma

Abstract

The growth of self-inflicted skin lesions and the increase in suicide rates in younger age groups show a deep malaise in contemporary adolescents. The trend towards medicalization of various aspects of life has produced a reductionist approach to these phenomena, making it difficult to set boundaries between adolescence and illness. The Covid-19 pandemic accentuated the psychological distress among the adolescents. As an alternative to the medicalization of subjective crises, it is necessary to give a voice to the young people so that they can transform anguish and dismay into an active participation in the process of changing society.