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The Kids Are('nt) Alright?

Corey Leaper LPC

Director of ACT Team at Lenape Valley Foundation

发布日期: 2023年9月23日

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By: Corey Leaper, LPC

September 23, 2023

In 1965, Roger Daltrey of The Who calmly assured us that “The Kids Are Alright.” Four years later, Joe Cocker was asked if he was “Feelin’ Alright,” but stated on more than one occasion “I'm not feelin' too good myself.” 34 years after Daltrey’s observation, Dexter Holland of The Offspring countered with a cautionary tale that maybe “The Kids Aren’t Alright.” Song lyrics aside, are the kids actually alright or not? Are we alright or not? Are you? Opinions will vary from person to person, but in 2023, I personally believe we’re not. We’ve teetered on being alright and not for centuries and what we’ve experienced in the past 58 years since The Who’s song (particularly since 2001), it’s amazing any of us can say we’re just alright.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “alright” as: “exactly, just, good, fine.” FINE: Freaked Out, Insecure, Neurotic, Emotional (a reference to the 2003 film “The Italian Job”). To be just alright in this day and age must mean something more; there’s deeper meaning to the word. When we’re asked how we are/how we’re doing and the response is “Alright,” it usually prompts the questioner to respond, “Just alright?” That response is typically supposed to elicit a further explanation from us. We would expect a further explanation from someone if we inquired about them in the same manner.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and I wanted to present the following facts (date was collected from NAMI, CDC, and NIMH and was last updated April 2023):

1 in 5?U.S. adults experience mental illness each year
1 in 20?U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year
1 in 6?U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year
50%?of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24
Suicide is the?2nd?leading?cause of death among people aged 10-14

Statistics don’t line, though at times they may seem a bit inflated. We’re in and will continue to be in a mental health recrudescence until a time comes when we’re all comfortable with sharing/caring and accepting other’s individualities. We’re so wrapped up in caring how others think/feel/look that we’re overlooking our own insecurities and not addressing them. Social media has become a breeding ground for hate and vitriol instead of celebrating others’ individualities. News outlets don’t help the case either and it’s becoming harder to pull ourselves away from it all. We’ve either become immune and/or stopped caring how this negativity affects us. For centuries, society has told men and women how they’re supposed to look/act/feel, but I believe it’s time to break with traditions and finally feel comfortable with expressing who we truly are.

To allow you, the reader, to understand more of what I mean, I’m going to share a few personal details in hopes of breaking stereotypes and gender roles:

I’m an avid Philadelphia sports fan, but I cried like a baby when the Eagles won the Super Bowl. I thought men weren’t allowed to show emotions?!
I do the dishes at home, love to cook dinner and fold laundry more times than not.
I’m an action movie buff, but I love Hallmark Christmas movies/Christmas music. I’m like Frosty when it comes to Christmas movies and music, I turn into a puddle whenever I watch It's a Wonderful Life.
I love the Golden Girls, Les Misérables and operatic music.
I can’t spackle a hole in the wall to save my life, but I am comfortable with knowing my limitations and knowing what I am good at, including my work in the mental health field.
I’m also a complete ball of anxiety, almost daily.

No one can take away my uniqueness or use it to belittle me because after 36 years I’ve finally stopped caring how others view me in terms of what I like. Sure, I still have some insecurities, but that’s for another time. Being honest with yourself and others about who you are and what you need will hopefully help in the long run. Nowadays, we’re constantly moving too fast to realize what’s going on in our lives that when we finally stop and grasp the reality that is, it can be truly overwhelming. If you do not have support in your life, listed below are several local/national mental health resources; please reach out and use them. You are not weak if you need/seek help. If you still feel alone, in the dark, helpless/hopeless and feel as though you have no one to turn to, please remember these lyrics from Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats’ 2021 song “I’m On Your Side:”

“But if you ain’t alright,

Just remember,

I’m on your side.”

Be Cool to one another.

Local Mental Health services:

Lenape Valley Foundation

499 Bath Rd.

Bristol, PA 19007

(215) 458-4200

Lenape Valley Foundation

500 N. West St.

Doylestown, PA 18901