UNIVERSITY OF NATURAL HEALTH

UNIVERSITY OF NATURAL HEALTH by Sixto J. Sicilia Marrero A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in HOLISTIC HEALTH AND NUTRITION July, 2020 Page 1 Page 2 Throughout history, societal advancements have presented themselves with some type of consequence resulting in a negative outlook or outcome of said advancement. Societies have grappled with changes and have either risen to appreciate the change or fallen into a sense of dismay, or a type of arrested development. This arrested development is a cessation of societal growth that continues until the crisis of advancement or change has been resolved and integrated into the societal norm. For the first time since the evolution of the Homo sapiens we are witness to a segment of society living outside of its norms, of psychosocial developmental conditioning, and its inherent communal environment, that is to say, assimilating maladaptive behaviors causing a range of psychosocial dysfunctions such as irrational anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness. Historically communities have been the standard of tribal cohesion for our species. In the beginning tribes of 20 or more people helped each other and took care of each other’s physiological needs as well as providing safety and unity for the tribe. The phenomenon of progress shows that progress has not always favored the expansion and growth of the collective consciousness of a society. In the last one-hundred years, progress has been silently dismantling the cohesion of Community and bolstering ill effects and crisis upon the human psyche. It is here we find the occurrence of psychological afflictions such as anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness are at an all-time high in the history of the United States and other parts of the world. In the United States, these afflictions are particularly affecting the generational groups of Millennials (born roughly between 1981–1996) and Generation Z (1997- Page 3 2012), at much higher rates than other generations. These two groups share what appears to be a separation from psychosocial developmental norms. These psychosocial developmental norms were instilled by the constant evolution of the human race and subsequently adapted and integrated to develop a functional tribe. Progress is defined by Merrian-Webster as “gradual development” or “to develop a higher, better more advanced state.1” Two major pioneering developments introduced that were deviations to the evolved communal standard; communal standard being social tribal interactions, were air conditioning and television. Air conditioning and television offered a novel change to the standard lifestyle, one to the comfort of the home the other to the value of entertainment in the home. These two basic introductions changed the way that we, as Homo sapiens, commune in modern times and relate to each other in everyday affairs. It is noted that up until the introduction of these inventions most of us comingled outside of the home relating to neighbors, sharing experiences, and maintaining a tribal community. Children played outside the home, and certainly were not over-stimulated by man-made technological distractions. Air conditioning, the start of environmentally-controlled environments, and television triggered a departure from traditional communal interaction and entertainment. These technological advances started to reshape the social entertainment landscape, our inherent social communal habits. They altered the manner in which we connect with mind-body thought processes and how we handle the related dysfunctional neurosis that arose from these technological advances. Little was it known at the time that by indulging in the luxury of escaping the heat and humidity within our homes (air conditioning) that the consequences would curtail human interaction and promote behaviors that would alter tribal interactions and catapult society into “retreating into the world within” into Page 4 our sheltered selves and minds. At about the same time as air conditioning made its debut into the home habitat so did another pioneering invention, the television. At first, the television set presented itself as a form of entertainment enjoyed at communal gatherings of friends, family, and neighbors. People gathered in groups at the homes and at places where there was access to a television set and we negotiated, collaborated, navigated, and discussed. Where in the past we gathered socially in traditional Salon-style, which was “a gathering of notables held by custom at the home of a prominent person,” or a “communal gathering where information was shared upon a group of people,”2 along came the Nuclear family unit. The Nuclear family unit introduced a different type of tribal family group. This new group consisted only of parents and children and excluded the extended family and close friends and acquaintances, a significant variance from earlier times where everyone was included in the function of the tribe. At first, within this novel Nuclear family dynamic, there existed only one television set in the household around which family members would gather in collaboration and negotiation in the relationship of human interaction with the television set. As televisions became more accessible there was a shift away from frequent social interactions; venturing out, and the habitual way in which people got acquainted and stayed in touch. In addition, where there was one television set turned into multiple sets throughout the home and the familial rapport and human exchanges were now less than consequential and slightly less relevant. The beginning of diminishing societal contact within the community and the Nuclear family started what can now be defined as undoing a vital part of the social fabric of the micro and macro human experience. The extended family and the tribe were now not involved in the contractual day to day living and communal interactions. We were starting to witness a decline away from healthy communal interactions and a shift towards Page 5 the “Me” and away from the “WE.” This shift was the manifestation of human isolation of the psyche, revealing itself as anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness. The shift away from community norms continues as technological advancements produce people that are intertwined with Artificial Intelligence and technology that takes away from integrating the Self wholly into the human experience. These advancements in “staying connected” were to stimulate our central nervous system into non-urgent action, creating anxiety and the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), modern afflictions of our innate Fight or Flight behavioral response. One may relate, when not too long ago, with the introduction of the home answering machine suddenly people felt an urge, as never before, to constantly check their home answering machines to check and see if someone had called. People also started to carry beepers. If you were not part of an essential service, what would be the urgency of being available 24-7? The Technological Revolution as it has been labeled is an age where we started to relate to others through virtual machines of all types and, interpreting human emotions through them. In times before these advancements and in times of adversity we may have reached out to one another, and most importantly exercised the strength of the human psyche to heal through human interaction now done through a middleman: the screen. Within the Holistic Health philosophy, there exists a list of 32 key contributors to human well-being as stated by Dr. Douglas N. Graham in his book the “80-10-10 diet” (Graham, D.N. Dr.(2006 and 2008). The 80/10/10 Diet: Balancing your health, your weight, and your life, one luscious bite at a time, Pg 11. Key Largo: FoodnSport Press). These 32 key contributors state what a human being should experience for a healthy dose of the human experience. The most important of these is the need to maintain a Page 6 clean, hygienic living environment, yet closely followed by Laws #11 through 16 which deal with the development of psychosocial skills, (See attachment 1). Psychosocial skills: 11. Need for the Human Touch 12. Thought, cogitation, and meditation 13. Friendships and Companionships 14. Gregariousness (Social relationships, community) 15. Love and appreciation 16. Play and recreation. It is clear that these basic principles found in the philosophies of Orthopathy or Holistic Health define centuries of evolution in innate habitual behaviors or needs and wants of the psyche of the Homo sapiens to achieve functional well-being and the need for community, a tribe, and a connection. We have now grown into a society where isolation is a term; it has become a Thing (a noun). Isolation has become the norm not the exception. For a visual let us analyze this scenario: a person goes on a hike with their dog, this person is by his or herself relating to his or herself, to the thoughts in their head yet the person feels a sense of connection to the environment around him or her, as there may be other people out and about. In reality, the nuance of isolation is present, there is no relating to others being undertaken at any level, and there is little growth of character. What builds character are all the things we seem to be doing in opposite to our innate need for connection. The term Social Media begs the question: What is so social about Social Media? Does it strengthen the ability to talk to strangers and feel at ease among others? Does Social Media develop the traits that lead to a healthy character? Does it help in the development of a Homo sapiens who is present and not thinking way inside their head, a Page 7 being who understands what a smile represents; or what emotion a smile represents? Does Social Media perhaps develop an individual that is simply afraid to talk to strangers, lack the skills for face-to-face interactions, or ask for help when help is needed therefore increasing anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness? The Millennial and Generation Z cohort groups, who are what I term collectively as the Guinea Pig generations of the technological age, have surfed through periods in their lives where critical psychosocial development during specific periods was not integrated into the Self. It has also been suggested that this development was modified or stunted in some form by overprotective parenting. Their generational development is out of synch with centuries-old communal and tribal conditioning, which is further witnessed in the theory first presented in the genre of Developmental Psychology, in particular the theory presented by the foundational psychosocial theorist Erik Eriksson in his “Stages of Psychosocial Development.”3 These stages identify a series of eight stages that a healthy developing individual should pass through from infancy to late adulthood. Whether it is the effects of overly-protective parents with plenty of disposable time on their hands or the effects or absent parenting, or the disconnection we find with the onset of the tech- led lifestyle or social shifts away from the community, these trends have presented a schism in generational psychosocial shifts. These shifts have occurred in key stages of psychosocial development during the Middle Childhood to Early Adulthood years whose virtues are key in healthy, natural psychosocial development. When we study these psychosocial developmental stages we can observe many characteristics that make their holistic application difficult when the Page 8 subject is shielded from experiencing growth at the given stage of development. We are also witnessing stunted development in human relationships that present hardships in coping with the outside of “Me,” coping with all external factors outside of the Self. These crises present to these cohort groups difficulty in talking to strangers, relating to everyday affairs, and understanding that all concerns, challenges, and efforts in life take time, there is no instant gratification. A baby takes nine months to be born; Rome was not built in a day, the awareness of the delay of gratification. That which is learned from Eriksson’s observations is that not processing through a said developmental stage will cause an eventual crisis or a type of arrested development. Take for example the popular term among these cohort groups, “Adulting4” which means to carry out one or more of the duties and responsibilities expected of fully developed individuals. In their lexicon taking on these responsibilities is an observation of something to be done and not part of their identity. The challenge is that the majority of these young adults or adults are already into adulthood. “Adulting4” is a verb, in other words, it is an action of all the responsibilities that come with adulthood, an action that starts to develop during Erikson’s Middle Childhood through Young Adulthood observations. These cohort groups are developing adult skills much later in their lifecycle, presenting themselves with inexplicable difficulties on their way to adulthood. The goal here is reversing the societal mal-adaptations to correct mental health issues or physiological disorders. These changes can be attained through integrating Holistic Health philosophies (Orthopathy) into family dynamics. Research methodology: My principle research methodology was an extensive literature review and a mix of contextual real-world knowledge on the behaviors, social structures and shared beliefs of the generational cohort groups made up of Millennials and Generation Z. Page 9  Personal C.V: I am a fervent researcher, learner, and educator and offer an extensive background in Holistic Health philosophies (Orthopathy), psychology, yoga, and meditation modalities. As an educator with the abilities of a human search engine, research is second nature and I am often investigating the root of human behavior, whether it is through face-to-face (direct contact) or observations. As an immigrant child and one exposed to much political trauma, I was immersed into diverse situations and environments at an early age, perhaps this exposure fostered my main strength as an objective thinker with an innate ability to discern data and take appropriate steps to make a change and obtain more dynamic life and business models of mental, emotional and physical health.  In the past 10 years, I have gone further into my life-long curiosity into human behavior and healthy lifestyles. Two major changes in my life propelled this interest, the loss of a tightly knit family and cultural values plus and my role as an educator/researcher and Holistic Health practitioner where I am witness to behaviors coming from a wide array of psychosocial, multi-regional surroundings. My idyllic upbringing taught me that love is inherent and comes naturally. It was imprinted upon my psyche that doing the right thing and having human relations be an everyday affair, something that we can acknowledge seems to be the exception instead of the norm. As an educator, I have personal experience and see first-hand a common denominator of disconnection within student behavior which further validates the research theme for this paper which was from objective and subjective viewpoints. My skills gave me an advantage point to understand when personal bias may have been taken into account and when my perception may have influenced the results as I compared my viewpoints to relevant published data. Page 10  o Anecdotal example, in one situation school counselors, came into the learning environment to pull out students that needed to contact Universities. When I inquired I was told that the kids do not like talking to strangers and therefore make it an anxious task for them to make phone calls, a theme not uncommon throughout my research. If there was a conflicting analysis of data I published viable data versus fake or less viable data coming from less genuine resources and information. I took the objective path of stepping back and observing my thoughts and findings and taking into consideration as to how my participation in and perception of those thoughts might have influenced the results. I analyzed articles pertinent to the subject at hand and categorized them by research-based data from reputable sources such as the American Psychological Organization, followed by articles of stories passed down, as in anecdotal articles based on the author’s findings, not necessarily data-backed, yet relevant in the learning process. A process of learning passed down since the evolution of time, Story Telling. Page 11  STATEMENT OF THESIS ARGUMENT -The Principles of Orthopathy demonstrate a breakthrough in addressing a marked deviation in the roles of social interaction, relationship building, overextension of the tech-based lifestyle leading to a schism in the growth stages of human development and an impact of social experience across a whole lifespan, thus leading to current psychosocial developmental afflictions of depression, isolation, anxiety, heightened loneliness plus social dysfunction among members of generational cohort groups Millennials and Generation Z- A vast majority of Millennials and Gen Z’s are facing psychosocial developmental and dysfunctional challenges. These challenges can be attributed to the number of social distractions, for example, Social Media, and over-involved parents (Helicopter parenting) overshadowing their offspring’s psychosocial development. This over-involvement leads to a lag in the ability of the child to interpret human connections, interactions, and relations. The developmental dysfunctions can also be attributed to stunted psychosocial growth, a type of arrested development seen where developmental theories using a generational psychosocial holistic approach are being shunted.3 In addition to the onset of the Tech lifestyle, these groups face challenges when assimilating to healthy human intra-societal communications. The effects of these challenges are bringing about higher rates of depression, isolation, anxiety, and heightened loneliness to a group that should otherwise be building confidence to aspire instead of being fearful. For the first time in the history of the United States, and let me reference this was pre- Covid-19, anxiety and its related effects are at an all-time high affecting over 47 million Americans. Key to mention is that the Millennials (1981-1996) and Generation Z (1997- 2012) cohort groups not only make up the majority of the US population combined, and they are also Page 12 experiencing the highest level of said afflictions relating to anxiety.5 Orthopathy can offer natural lifestyle changes and holistic methods to address and change the course of this disturbing trend. The table below illustrates the different cohort groups and their age range: It is important to emphasize the challenges faced by these cohort groups when considering social interaction, building relationships, and establishing an otherwise solid productive work-ethic. These issues are aggravated by the onset of tech-based lifestyles and dissension in the growth stages of psychosocial human development. Holistic Health philosophies can have a significant positive impact on targeting social media contagions such as isolation and loneliness, which can impact the social experience across a whole lifespan. We could through these philosophies affect change to a drug-free friendly resolution. Holistic Health philosophies challenge and provide a shift away from the current on-going trends of depression, loneliness, anxiety, and social dysfunction. Indeed, some isolated groups may not be affected by what I present within this Thesis, a solid generalization one may say. However, it is fact that the introduction of technological factors into the mainstream of America plus parenting styles that vary greatly from Page 13 a tribal and psychosocial developmental awareness are stunting what must be achieved to forward the Self’s sense of existence. These developmental challenges can transpire into those of hope and the willfulness to succeed and overcome perceived catastrophic situations in one’s life. There exists a dysfunction in the challenge of integrating change and resolving and moving on through a crisis and committing to one’s own personal growth and identity. In Chapter 2, I will discuss Erik Erikson who developed the stages of psychosocial development.3 These stages pose that certain events must take place at pre-determined periods in a person’s life to avoid identity confusion and to nurture a person to become well-adjusted across their entire lifespan. Erikson’s theory described the impact on a human being if these stages were somehow not fulfilled at which point the subject suffers from mal-adaption and developmental crises. Erikson’s theory described the impact of social experience across the whole lifespan. He was interested in how social interaction and human relationships played a role in the psychosocial development and intellectual growth of human beings. The stages in Erikson’s theory build upon the preceding stage and its virtues. It is stated that once a stage is mal-adapted, there is a developmental crisis or a lack of assimilation, and the turning point in development is arrested. However, the crisis can be reversed if the subject steps back and ameliorates what he or she has not achieved within the virtues of a certain stage. It is the crisis and its effect on one’s psyche and well-being that present an on-going entire lifespan challenge. The goal is to avoid the developmental crisis altogether, to assure that a person successfully assimilates certain virtues within the psychosocial developmental stages. The person then emerges with psychological strengths that will serve them well for the rest of their lives. If Page 14 they fail to effectively acknowledge, address and assimilate the virtue presented within any stage, they are at risk of not developing the essential skills needed for a strong sense of Self for what could turn out to be an undetermined amount of one’s lifetime. If we apply these stages to the generational groups of Millennials and Gen Z, what is witnessed are young adults with anxiety-related issues presented too early in life which is specifically disrupting their Adolescence to Early Adulthood character development. Critics may say that the developmental stages developed by Erickson were conducted by studies on cohort groups that deviate from the core group characteristic and identifying factors of Millennials and Gen Z. However, human nature and the human condition are such that when we deviate from its tribal conditioning the consequences are steadfast no matter the comparison of one core group characteristic and identifying factors versus another. It is asserted in the research literature that tribal conditioning is inherent no matter how it is dissected for study. Crisis resolution is often followed by a logical working application of a solution. As a People, we realize that we can function differently, perhaps more effectively in a new norm so we fold what is happening in our presence into a thought process, a thought bundle, a new perspective and we reconcile as best we can and move on. We may determine that a crisis is not the same for everyone and we may not want to generalize a solution. Changes in life are part of the collective evolution of a species. Young Adulthood, for example, is a time for exploration, for wonder, and gazing into what may be. If one is not given the tools to understand life in this way, if everything that we experience is filtered through a medium that has no emotion (tech lifestyle), if we are constantly under pressure to be something that we are not (social media), then we lose the natural Page 15 connection and calming effect that comes from being around other human beings. Whether it is a spiritual or metaphysical connection, one cannot interpret human emotions correctly nor can one learn the value of the calming effects of being in Community within our tribe. When we add the effect of over-involvement, wherein, helicopter parents, take over the virtues their children should have been learning, as well as those parents that found themselves leaving a child (latchkey kid) often alone at home or with no supervision because their responsibilities kept them away at work, the disconnection took a different light, a different aura. These children were left to technology as calming and soothing techniques. Being present is at an all-time low, as distractions and an overload of choices are at an all-time high. Society is neglecting to sitting and pondering in the process and therefore hurriedly walks right by the miracle of a rose growing in a garden and doesn’t pay attention to a gleeful song of a bird in the trees. “I was sitting in a chair on my roof listening to this, watching the early sunset, the Palm trees dancing in the distance, birds flying over the sky all I could see were silhouettes. A blow of wind gently blew my hair on my face. I closed my eyes and everything became more beautiful.” - Anonymous. The social experiment of the mid-20th century of the Nuclear family and the shift away from the extended family and tribe is an example of progress, adjustment to change, negative affectations to human development, and the focus away from the collective consciousness. As the inequities have arisen within social structures we are seeing a return to a significant change towards the benefits of familial values and communal cohesion. When a person confronts crisis, an area that they have not yet experienced or confronted in life, people seek or turn to trusted people in their lives in their community to gain support for their exploration of Self. When that community is a virtual, non-feeling entity, or a person that is Page 16 constantly hovering or making those decisions for you, there is likely a chance that the crisis will linger. The natural response is to find equilibrium. Either one finds a fix to this crisis or integrates the effects of the crisis into one’s life, or they fall into the need to hold onto past childhood identities and fail to integrate into a new dimension of adulthood. A person may take no responsibility for what is happening and place blame on others. A person may find refuge in self-sabotage, place blame on others, and grapple with resistance and conformity and present a functional demeanor, yet inside there is great turmoil and conflict. What the Millennials and Gen Z are experiencing today, is a question of whether this is generational specific or a generational social shift in human emotional awareness. Are we dealing with irreversible effects of the current technological age, as we questioned the changes that societies went through during the Industrial Revolution a century ago? All crises are reversible, yet the distress in these younger generations seems to be showing up at a much higher alarming rate than in the past at a key point in their life’s trajectory where aspiration and dreams and discovery helps calm the soul and hopes should not be overshadowed by sabotaging well- being and productivity. Page 17 “What children can do with the assistance of others might be in some sense even more indicative of their mental development than what they can do alone.” – Lev Livogsky, Mind in Society. We can start at home. A common denominator that we find among the Millennial and the Gen Z generational cohort groups besides social media overload is the phenomena of “Helicopter Parenting,” and the side-effects: a population cohort group that is riddled with anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness. These afflictions weren’t officially recognized as a condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) until 1980 since record-keeping on mental health prior to the Boomers was patchy. Boomers either didn’t seem to be so worried about life in general or they just did not report any such afflictions. In a survey conducted by Mind Share Partners, a company that consults companies on Mental Health issues, the results state that half of Millennial (defined in this survey as 23-38 years old) and 75% of Gen-Z (18-22 years old) respondents have left a job, both voluntarily and involuntarily, partially due to mental health reasons. (To put that in perspective, only 20% of the total survey respondents reported doing the same). Overall, Millennials were three times more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety than baby boomers, and Gen-Z was four times more likely.6 What could be the culprit affecting these young Americans? Pat Morrison a columnist for the Los Angeles Times describes in her interview with Julie Lythcott-Haims from her book “How to Raise an Adult” (Lythcott-Haims, J (2016). How to Raise an Adult, New York: Griffin), where Ms. Lythcott-Haims illustrates her experience working with quote-unquote the best and brightest students. Lythcott-Haims stated, “I was seeing Page 18 more and more [students] who seemed less and less capable of doing the stuff of life. They were incredibly accomplished in the transcript and GPA sense but less with their own selves, evidenced by how frequently they communicated with a parent, texting multiple times a day, needing a parent to tell them what to do. Students though very accomplished academically, were rather existentially impotent.”7 According to Lythcott-Haims what contributes to the Helicopter Parenting phenomenon is linked to the rise of irrational fear generated by crime entertainment far out of proportion to reality, as if child abduction could happen on every street corner. Yet another influence is the self-esteem movement in which she claims the term “Perfect” has become a rhetorical tic. Kids come away with this overblown sense of their own capability, and they think they have to be perfect all the time, [then] wither under the expectation when they realize they’re not.”7 In society, it is noted that these cohort groups can be paralyzed by ordinary social interaction. An interesting off-shoot effect is called “fear of strangers.” This fear may be since these cohort groups were void of contact with strangers by their parents taking all the actions of social responsibility during their psychosocial development. In earlier times according to Lythcott-Haims “If we phoned a friend, we were likely to get a parent and we’d have to say, “Mrs. Jones, can I please speak to Karen?” My 14- and my 16-year-old do not like to make phone calls. My daughter said, “I need a new leotard; can we drive to the store?” I said, “We’re not going to drive there; you’ve got to call.” She said, “Oh, no, I don’t like to do that.” 7 As an educator, I have been witness to much the same whereby in different circumstances at diverse locations counselors hold workshops with soon-to-be graduates showing them how to make phone calls and how to relate on the phone with someone that they do not know. Page 19 Parental interference is not the only factor in the arrested development of the Self. We find that technology indeed helps people be more flexible and more productive, and makes it easier to get work done, yet when it comes to tech use, many lack a healthy balance of its use in ordinary day- to-day life. Most of us understand the addiction and resulting stress surrounding the inability to periodically “unplug” or take a “digital detox.” The ability to unplug is important for mental health, yet in reality, most people are not proactive in their ability to unplug. The digital lifestyle makes it possible to interact with peers without having to go through a physical person, thus not learning nor being familiar with basic human responses such as the meaning of words, expressions, and commonalities or to how to properly interact in a live conversation. Perhaps that is why when you search for the word “etiquette” on the internet there are dozens of pages on the subject, including Etiquette Groups. Tech now plays a role where parents can be and are involved in practically every aspect of their offspring’s movements. This had lead to a generation of coddled and over-protected children that have been reared, not encouraged to deal with their tough situations. These cohort groups, Millennials, and Generation Z are often caught off-guard when their mindset or ideologies are upset, yet these reactions simply reflect the real-world circumstances for which they are ill- prepared. An article in Reason magazine, The Fragile Generation, December 2017, discusses a query that ran in Parents magazine: "Your child's old enough to stay home briefly, and often does. But is it okay to leave her and her playmate home while you dash to the dry cleaner? Absolutely not”, the magazine averred: "Take the kids with you, or save your errands for another time." After all, Page 20 "you want to make sure that no one's feelings get too hurt if there's a squabble." The principle here is simple: This generation of kids must be protected like none other. They can't use tools, they can't play on grass, and they certainly can't be expected to work through a spat with a friend. And this, it could be argued, is why we have "safe spaces" on college campuses and Millennials (Generation Z included) are missing adult milestones. These milestones, specifically the virtues of Competence, Fidelity, and Love will be covered in Chapter 2 in Erik Eriksson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. These are key developmental virtues learned during Middle Childhood and Young Adulthood yet not integrated into the Self due to Helicopter parenting and a poor balance of technology. We told a generation of kids that they can never be too safe—and they believed us. We've had the best of intentions, of course. But efforts to protect our children may be backfiring. When we raise kids unaccustomed to facing anything on their own, including risk, failure, and hurt feelings, our society and even our economy are threatened. Yet modern child-rearing practices and laws seem all but designed to cultivate this lack of preparedness. There's the fear that everything children see, do, eat, hear, and lick could hurt them. And there's a newer belief that has been spreading through higher education that words and ideas themselves can be traumatizing.8 Metaphorically, snowflakes aren't born, they're created. Today we have entered a new phase where our overactive imaginations about threats to children have been institutionalized into severely ineffective legal, educational, and social work systems. During the Covid-19 outbreak, the term Screen Time and Social Media has become a hotly debated issue among researchers of technology and related mental health concerns. Screen Time Page 21 and Social media refer to two different yet related ways of analyzing and categorizing data on this subject. According to researchers Orben and Przilbiski, there is a correlation between screen time use and mental health concerns. Yet the critics of Orben and Przilbilkis state that the problem with their data aggregation is in the categorizing of such data. For example, Screen Time should not include all mediums (O&B include television which has been on a decline among young adults since 2012) and that O&B’s data on Screen Time lacks separation by gender.9 The results are that Social Media as screen time is a medium that needs to be addressed all in its own category as its effects on the mental health hygiene of young girls is especially of concern. Jean Twenge, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at San Diego State University. Twenge has made the case that smartphones, social media, and other aspects of today’s popular screen-based technologies are contributing to the widely documented increases in youth depression, anxiety, and suicide. “I think there is an increasing amount of evidence that the ways young people are using technology lead to mental health issues and poor psychological well- being,” she says.10 Three is profound evidence that the scope of overprotection goes way beyond acceptable for functional human development. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that helicopter parents continued advocating for their adult children at the graduate school level as well, such as advocating for their adult child's admission to law school or business school. As this cohort entered the workforce, Human Resource officials reported helicopter parents showing up in the workplace or phoning managers to advocate on their adult child's behalf or to negotiate salaries for their adult children.11 As well the majority of parents are managing their young adult children’s health care visits, and their young adult children may be missing out on valuable Page 22 opportunities to learn how to take ownership of their health and learning to manage their lives more effectively. By letting children be adults, or not being present for their development life experiences is much the same. Let them take care of doing the Adulting for themselves. Something has been going wrong on many college campuses in the last few years. Speakers are shouted down. Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and are afraid to speak honestly. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising. How did this happen? From the new book by First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, (“The Coddling of the American Mind: How good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation of failure”, (2018). New York: Penguin), shows how the new problems on campus have their origins in three terrible ideas that have become increasingly woven into American childhood and education: What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings, and life is a battle between good people and evil people. These three Great Untruths contradict basic psychological principles about well-being and ancient wisdom from many cultures. Embracing these untruths—and the resulting culture of “safetyism”—interferes with young people’s social, emotional, and intellectual development. It makes it harder for them to become autonomous adults who can navigate the bumpy road of life (https://www.thecoddling.com/). Technology, in particular the rapid evolution of how people communicate and interact, is another generation-shaping consideration. Millennials came of age during the internet explosion. Generation Z had technology be a part of their lives from the time they were born. Young Americans are connected to the web through mobile devices, WiFi, and high-bandwidth cellular service to list a few. Social media, constant connectivity, and on-demand entertainment and communication are innovations that have also produced (Millennials and Gen Z’s alike) a most Page 23 self-absorbed generation, and this is according to “Themselves.” A new study published in open access scientific journal PLOS One, reveals these two generations are at once aware of their narcissism and more than a little bummed about it. In the report titled, “Emerging adult reactions to labeling regarding age-group differences in narcissism and entitlement,” a test called the Narcissistic Personality Inventory was administered and the results suggested that a rise in vanity occurred between the years 1976 and 2006. The authors report indicate ”that emerging adults believe their age-group and the one following them to be the most narcissistic and entitled age-groups, that they have generally negative opinions of narcissism and entitlement, and that they respond negatively to being labeled as narcissistic and entitled.”12 The Pew Research Center found that the implications of growing up in an “always-on” technological environment are only now coming into focus. Recent research has shown dramatic shifts in youth behaviors, attitudes, and lifestyles – both positive and concerning – for those who came of age in the environment of this era. What we don’t know is whether these are lasting generational imprints or characteristics of adolescence that will become more muted throughout their adulthood. Beginning to track this new generation over time will be of significant importance. The Pew Research Center is not the first to draw an analytical line between Millennials, Gen Z, and the generations to follow them. Perhaps, as more data are collected over the years, a clear, singular delineation will emerge. We remain open to recalibrating if that occurs. But more than likely the historical, technological, behavioral, and attitudinal data will show more of a continuum across generations than a threshold (See Chapter 2 Eriksson’s stages of psychosocial development). As has been the case in the past, this means that the differences within generations can be just as great as the differences across generations, and the youngest Page 24 and oldest within a commonly defined cohort may feel more in common with bordering generations than the one to which they are assigned. This is a reminder that generations themselves are inherently diverse and complex groups, not simple caricatures.13 Millennials are the young technology gurus who thrive on innovations, startups, and working out of coffee shops and they have redefined the workplace. In 2012 Time magazine called them “The Me Me Me Generation.” They have been a blog-savvy generation raised by parents who were not authoritative but rather saw themselves as partners. The Millennials grew up making the rules rather than having their parents tell them what was right or what was the wrong thing to do. Generation Z does not wear watches, use maps or addresses, go to photograph studios to have their pictures taken, or to libraries to gain knowledge. They use their smartphones to find everything they want, including the time, addresses, love, and photographs. It is truly a very different generation from anything seen beforehand. According to US researcher Darla Rothman, they are technologically savvy and are in constant contact with others through social media. They love technology because it solves their problems, helps their activities, and gives them solutions. The brains of this generation have also been impacted by the Internet, and they may lack critical thinking skills and the ability to evaluate information because they rely on finding answers to all their questions on Google. Instead of reading an article, Generation Z prefers to watch a YouTube video that summarizes the topic. They have never had to search the bookshelves at the library to find the information they are looking for. They are dynamic learners and are experimental, preferring to learn by doing instead of being told what to do. Rothman says members of Generation Z, in particular, prefer to be left to solve their problems alone and find Page 25 solutions through trial and error. They prefer quick answers to long or exhaustive ones. They do not spend their time verifying information and prefer to work in small groups whether for spontaneous or organized activities. One report published in June 2019 with the participation of the social media site Snapchat entitled “The Youth of the Nations: Global Trends Among Generation Z” studied the lifestyles, behavior, and attitudes of Generation Z to help advertisers understand them better to design more accurate advertising. Generation Z consists of young people who are the first to be considered digital natives born in a world of technology where the Internet has become an integral part of daily life and the way they connect with the outside world. This connection with the outside world lacks the emotional and spiritual nuances of healthy relationships and mental health. With more than 97% across the globe owning a smartphone, they are the most connected to the Internet of all, with 78% of them connected worldwide. This generation spends an average of four hours and 15 minutes a day on their phones and uses far more technology compared to their predecessors. According to the Snapchat report, members of Generation Z want to live for thousands of years. They like challenges, and they want to achieve the most they can. They are an ambitious generation and are ready to challenge themselves to achieve their goals.14 And although they invest more in health and in taking care of themselves, how well they cope with the environmental stressors outside of their digital bubble seems to be the problem with maintaining a healthy mindset. In summary as a collective group, Millennials and Generation Z alike may be known as successful and driven, but their marriage to technology has nearly destroyed their interpersonal Page 26 skills and as a result has invited a much higher rate of mental health afflictions such as depression, anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, and hopelessness. They are plugged into the digital world the minute they are born. Their pictures are taken as soon as they emerge from the delivery room, and their milestones are instantly shared on social media accompanied by a deluge of comments and admiration. Such children are one not to know the world without social media or what to do with their hands if they aren’t holding mobile phones in them. It is appropriate to note when referring to young people and mental health is that ever since the 1930s, young people in America have reported feeling increasingly anxious and depressed (much of the richest data on this question, then, comes from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), which has been administered to high school and college students since the 1930s. When you look at MMPI questions over time, there is a clear increase in symptoms associated with depression and anxiety (see graph below).15 Page 27 In these graphs, for example, each dot represents a study conducted using the MMPI. One of the researchers who has done the most work on this subject is Dr. Jean Twenge, a social psychologist at San Diego State University who is the author of “Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—and More Miserable Than Ever Before” (2014, New York: Atria Books). She’s published a handful of articles on this trajectory, and the underlying story, she thinks, is a rather negative one. “I think the research tells us that modern life is not good for mental health,” she said. When Twenge attributes this worsening to “modern life,” she has certain specific features of it in mind. She says that there is a lot of good things about societal and technological progress and that in a lot of ways our lives are much easier than, say, our grandparents’ or great-grandparents’ lives. But she states “there’s a paradox here that we seem to have so much ease and relative economic prosperity compared to previous centuries, yet there’s this dissatisfaction, there’s this unhappiness, there are these mental health issues in terms of anxiety and depression.”15 In the introduction to this paper, I mention how “in the last one-hundred years, progress has been silently dismantling the cohesion of community and bolstering ill effects and crisis upon the human psyche.” In much the same thought, Dr. Twenge states the primary problem is that “modern life doesn’t give us as many opportunities to spend time with people and connect with them, at least in person, compared to, say, 80 years ago or 100 years ago. Families are smaller, the divorce rate is higher, people get married much later in life.” Smaller families and later marriage, of course, in part reflect societal advancement most of us would view as positive — people, particularly women, have a lot more autonomy over relationships and reproduction. Twenge wanted to be clear that she is for all these different types of societal progress, and that Page 28 the period when people reported fewer depressions and anxiety symptoms was also the one where there was widespread racial and gender-based discrimination. She just also thinks we should be “clear-eyed” about the fact that the “potential tradeoff for our equality and freedom is more anxiety and depression because we’re more isolated.”15 “When you think of how lives have changed from 2010 to 2017, a clear answer is that over time, people started spending more time on phones and on social media, less time face-to-face with their friends, and less time sleeping. As we know from other studies, spending more time with screens, less time sleeping, and less time face-to-face with friends is not a good formula for mental health.” —Jean Twenge, Ph.D., lead study author Research has shown that Americans work longer hours and have more stress-related illnesses than in other countries which can affect your thoughts, behavior, and health. There is FOMO: The Fear of Missing Out one of the factors that the phenomena that social media has impressed on our minds. FOMO or the inability to switch off, coupled with the addictive functionality of mobile devices, can lead to high levels of stress, anxiety, and even fractured personal relationships. The following interview between Dr. Susan Heitler Ph.D. and Jake Heilbrunn who has written a book “Off The Beaten Trail,” and has newly released TEDx talk, grabbed my attention since Mr. Heilbrunn is 20-something and is speaking about his peers.16 Dr. H: What do you think is a key reason young people are experiencing so much and such severe levels of anxiety? JH: Based on my own experience plus talking with thousands of high school and college kids when I speak at schools across the country, I see the widespread use of social media as a major new anxiety trigger. Millennials and Gen Zers like myself are growing up in a world with two lives, both equally as real: digital and analog (in person.) In our digital lives (a.k.a “social Page 29 media”) we are constantly trying to maintain an image. We paint pictures of our lives with the photos and stories about ourselves that we post. And we compare the realities of our lives with the images others paint on social media of their lives, or at least of what they want us to think their lives are all about. Dr. H: Why do you think social media be a bigger anxiety-generator for young people than for older adults? JH: Quantity. Gen Zers spend, on average, four hours a day on social media. Imagine spending ¼ of your waking-life subconsciously comparing yourself to the people you follow on Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. More time on social media yields more emotional distress. Constant scrolling and social comparison bring about thoughts like, “I’m not good enough, happy enough, smart enough, good-looking enough, etc.” A continual stream of these kinds of negative comparison thoughts all too frequently culminates in overwhelming feelings of worry— generating anxiety—and of being less-than, which generates depression. Research studies have shown a direct link between the quantity of time spent on social media and levels of anxiety and depression, ( https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2016/04/30/study-links-heavy- facebook-and-social-media-usage-to-depression/#4757934b535 ) At the same time, the more anxious young people feel, the more tempted, and even addicted, they may become to constant searching on social media for information about their social status. The vicious cycle spins on. Dr. H: Are there additional ways in which social media seems to invite anxiety? JH: For sure. Students open the door to enter their dorm room, and instead of talking with their roommates what do they do? They check their Facebook page. They want to take a study break, and what do they do? The same. First thing when they wake up in the morning what do they do? Check their email and Facebook pages. All of this time spent checking social media is time that in the past might have been spent hanging out with friends, developing social aptitude. Chatting in person, unlike reading about friends on social media, builds social connections. Social connections build self-confidence. So in addition to creating anxious feelings, social media checking decreases the amount of oxytocin-induced good feelings generated by actual Page 30 friend-to-friend contact. Also, there’s something about cell phones and computers that makes them addictive, although we may not be actively using them, the brain knows that our gadgets are present therefore wasting useful nerve energy. That means that students are not just occasionally thinking about how they match up with others. Addicts keep checking and checking in hopes of a shot of good feelings. And they far too often experience anxious or depressed feelings because instead of getting that shot of an upper feeling, they see someone who looks better than them or someone who has said something hostile about them. Of course, looking at others for clues about how others see you have long been a teenage way of clarifying self-image. Teenagers have always sought to understand who they are and how they rank with others by checking out what others think of them. The sad twist induced by social media is that teenagers receive false images of great happiness induced by others’ image-enhancing posts. And when “likes” for their posts replace the fun teens used to get from direct social interactions like talking, smiling and “hanging out” with their friends, life becomes both scarier and less fulfilling.16 In closing, Orthopathy is based on Holistic Healing or a natural hygienic approach to health and well-being. Within Orthopathy which I will discuss in Chapter 3 one finds that understanding the body and mind can heal many afflictions when we apply the principles through mindfulness and diet and change our lifestyles to that fact. Page 31 At this point let me present the stages of Erikson’s Psychosocial Developmental theory. These stages are outlined and expounded upon in this chapter. Each stage of the developmental stage is outlined as to the approximate age of the individual and the conflicts that individuals must face to achieve a certain “virtue” for progression in their psychosocial development. These stages are detailed below: Approximate Psychosocial Significant Existential Virtues Age crisis relationship question Infancy Trust vs. Can I trust the Feeding, Hope Mother Mistrust world? abandonment Under 2 years Toddlerhood Toilet training, Autonomy vs. Is it okay to be Will Parents clothing 2–4 years Shame/Doubt me? themselves Early Is it okay for Exploring, childhood Initiative vs. Purpose Family me to do, using tools or Guilt 5–8 years move, and act? making art Middle Can I make it Childhood Industry vs. Neighbors, in the world of Competence School, sports Inferiority School people and 9–12 years things? Adolescence Identity vs. Peers, Role Who am I? Social Fidelity 13–19 years Role Confusion Model Who can I be? relationships Early adulthood Intimacy vs. Friends, Romantic Love Can I love? Isolation Partners relationships 20–39 years Page 32 Making reference to Eriksson’s theory of psychosocial development and how they relate to the Millennial and Gen Z cohort groups, I propose to characterize an individual advancing through the early stage of development as a means of negotiating their biological, sociological, psychological, and communal socio-cultural forces given the influence of parenting styles, social media, Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence. As we progress through these stages a person is affronted with mysteries that face their human experience taking leaps and learning to meet the ever-evolving unknown Self full of rawness, clarity, and doubt. At every stage, one is confronted with the process of outward discernment of what is and the wonders of what is to be in their reality. For example, according to Erikson’s theory, humans gain the virtues of Competence, Fidelity and Love during the stages of Middle Childhood, Adolescence and Early Adulthood and these virtues are overlapped again with Love leading to Care as we reach Early and Middle adulthood respectively. What research shows is that letting the Self be present for growth should never involve the interference of over-involved parents or the void left by non-present parents, nor from the influences of the ever-persistent presence of over-stimulation and the newfound norm of instant gratification. If these stages and their virtues are not integrated into the human psyche in subsequent order, then one presents themselves with a particular crisis: I present in my thesis that Millennial and Gen Z cohort groups lack the processing and coping skills of social interaction and therefore suffer more greatly from increased depression, isolation, anxiety, loneliness and the lack of social skills to communicate and collaborate and where Holistic Health (Orthopathy) can play a key role in the battle against the consequences of Utopian progress. Page 33 Each stage in Erikson's theory builds on the preceding stage and their virtues pave the way for the following periods of development. In each stage, Erikson believed people experience a conflict that serves as a turning point in their development. In Erikson's view, these conflicts are centered on either developing a psychological virtue or failing to develop that virtue. During these times, the potential for personal growth is high but so is the potential for failure. If development is arrested by the intervention of outside influences there is a crisis that eventually needs to be resolved for functional living. Not negotiating in their social-cultural forces during the specified ages evolves into a psychosocial crisis. If the opposite takes place the individual successfully progresses through these stages then they emerge from the stage with the corresponding virtue. When virtues are not successfully integrated into the psyche challenges will without a doubt be expected to return as problems in the future. However, mastery of a stage is not required to advance to the next stage. The outcome of one stage is not permanent and can be modified by later experiences avoiding shutting down, not progressing, and avoiding our lives become small and challenging in every way. Erikson also believed that a sense of competence motivates behaviors and actions. Each stage in Erikson's theory is concerned with becoming competent in an area of life. If the stage is handled well, the person will feel a sense of mastery, which is sometimes referred to as ego strength or ego quality. If the stage is managed poorly, the person will emerge with a sense of inadequacy in that aspect of development. Erik Erikson in collaboration with his wife Joan Erikson, composed a comprehensive psychoanalytic theory that identified a series of eight stages that a healthy developing individual should pass through from infancy to late adulthood. According to Erikson, a person passes through eight developmental stages that build on each other. At each stage, the child will face a Page 34 particular crisis. By resolving the crisis, the developing child will develop psychological strengths or character traits that help them become confident and healthy people. Erikson's stage theory characterizes an individual advancing through the eight life stages as a function of negotiating their biological and sociocultural forces. Each stage is characterized by a psychosocial crisis of two conflicting forces. If an individual does indeed successfully reconcile these forces (favoring the first mentioned attribute in the crisis), they emerge from the stage with the corresponding virtue. The accrual of these values wherein the positive attribute is obtained leads to a healthier psychological and sociological development. For example, if an infant enters into the toddler stage (autonomy vs. shame and doubt) with more trust than mistrust, they carry the virtue of hope into the remaining life stages. The challenges of stages not completed may be expected to return as problems in the future. However, mastery of a stage is not required to advance to the next stage. Erikson advanced the notion that each of his developmental stages is characterized by a psychosocial crisis of two conflicting forces. If an individual does indeed successfully reconcile these forces, by achieving a favorable outcome he will be better adjusted to reconcile life on life’s terms. This is what every parent wishes for. With each outcome, that individual will emerge from a stage with the corresponding virtue that is needed for psychosocial development to the next phase of development. I believe it is best to look through each stage and discern what exactly a developing child needs to receive the appropriate virtue for psychological growth in the overall scheme of things: Life. According to Erik Erikson, the major developmental task in infancy is to learn whether or not other people, especially primary caregivers, regularly satisfy basic needs. If caregivers are consistent sources of food, comfort, and affection, an infant learns trust — that others are Page 35 dependable and reliable. If they are neglectful, or perhaps even abusive, the infant instead learns mistrust — that the world is an undependable, unpredictable, and possibly a dangerous place. While negative, having some experience with mistrust allows the infant to gain an understanding of what constitutes dangerous situations later in life; yet being at the stage of infant or toddler, it is a good idea not to put them in prolonged situations of mistrust: the child's number one needs are to feel safe, comforted, and well cared for.17 The first stage of Erikson’s theory, 0-2 years of age, presents the crisis of autonomy of the individual versus shame and doubt. Their environmental necessity to guard and guide the individual through this stage is the primary caretaker, usually the mother. The crisis, which is negotiated by the ability of the primary caretaker, creates the virtue of whether or not the world is a friendly environment. Erikson proposes his first stage of life as a mastery of Hope. An infant experiences a sense of trust vs. mistrust which gains them the virtue of trust. Trust as defined by Erikson is "an essential trustfulness of others as well as a fundamental sense of one's own trustworthiness."18 The child's relative understanding of the world and society comes from the parents and their interaction with the child. A child's first trust is always with the parent or caregiver; whoever that might be, however, the caregiver is secondary whereas the parents are primary in the eyes of the child. If the parents expose the child to warmth, regularity, and dependable affection, the infant's view of the world will be one of trust. Should parents fail to provide a secure environment and to meet the child's basic needs; a sense of mistrust will result.17 The development of mistrust can lead to feelings of frustration, suspicion, withdrawal, and a lack of confidence.18 Page 36 According to Erik Erikson, the major developmental task in infancy is to learn whether or not other people, especially primary caregivers, regularly satisfy basic needs. If caregivers are consistent sources of food, comfort, and affection, an infant learns trust — that others are dependable and reliable. If they are neglectful, or perhaps even abusive, the infant instead learns mistrust — that the world is an undependable, unpredictable, and possibly a dangerous place. While negative, having some experience with mistrust allows the infant to gain an understanding of what constitutes dangerous situations later in life; yet being at the stage of infant or toddler, it is a good idea not to put them in prolonged situations of mistrust: the child's number one needs are to feel safe, comforted, and well cared for.17 Positive first impressions during this stage are paramount if the child is to experience meaningful relationships later on in life. From the age of 2 to 4, as the child gains control over eliminative functions and motor abilities, they begin to explore their surroundings. The parents' patience and encouragement help to foster the autonomy in the child. The parents’ over-protectiveness does not. Children at this age like to explore the world around them and they are constantly learning about their environment. Caution must be taken at this age while children may explore things that are dangerous to their health and safety. Again, it is the parent’s responsibility to guide the child through this stage with the resulting virtue being the acknowledgment that the child is okay to be themselves. By completing tasks on their own, the child gains a sense of independence allowing children to make decisions and gain control, parents and caregivers can help children develop a sense of autonomy. A parent knows when they have hit this milestone when your toddler starts to assert their independence. They realize that they can do some things by themselves — and they insist on those things. Page 37 In Erikson’s third proposed stage, from the age of 5 to 8), children begin to strengthen their power and control over the world through face-to-face play, an invaluable framework for social interactions. When they achieve an ideal balance of individual initiative and the willingness to work with others, they develop a sense of purpose. These are the preschool years. As the child interacts socially and plays with others, they learn that they can take the initiative and control what happens. Children who are successful in this stage feel confident and trusted to guide others. Those who don’t achieve these qualities likely feel a sense of guilt, have doubts, and lack initiative. Guilt is good in the sense that it shows children’s ability to recognize when they’ve done something wrong. Nevertheless, excessive or undeserved guilt can cause children to reject challenges because they don’t feel capable of facing the world around them. If parents are controlling or Helicopter parents they don’t support their child when they make decisions, the child may not be equipped to take the initiative, may lack ambition, and could be filled with guilt. Overpowering feelings of guilt can prevent a child from interacting with others and deter their creativity and a sense of purpose. Stage 4, from ages 9 to 12, is when children enter into the elementary school system. This is the period of development where the young adolescent is learning new skills and behaviors. It’s also the period where their circle of influence widens. They have plenty of teachers and peers to whom they are looking for influence. They may start comparing themselves to others. If they decide that they’re doing well scholastically, on the sports field, at the arts, or socially, they will develop feelings of pride and accomplishment. When the child succeeds, they’ll feel industrious and believe they can set goals — and reach them. However, if children have repeated negative Page 38 experiences at home or feel that society is too demanding, they may develop feelings of inferiority. Stage 5 takes place between the ages of 13-19. During this truly important stage of development, the young adult is faced with the challenges of developing a true send of their true Self. They form their identity by examining their beliefs, goals, and values. They are asking themselves: “Who am I?”, “What do I want to work as?”, “How do I fit into society?” These questions combined with the confusion of the question “What’s happening to my body?” Most adolescents will explore different roles and ideas on the journey to integrate with the Self. Adolescents who successfully weather this crisis will come away with a strong sense of identity. They’ll be able to uphold these values despite the challenges that they’ll face in the future. However, when adolescents don’t search for their own identity, they may not develop a strong sense of Self and won’t have a clear picture of their future. The same confusion may be compounded by the pressures they feel to conform to others' values and beliefs. During this period the adolescent discovers their sexuality and their sexual needs and begins to design a picture of the person that they want to be in the future. As the individual grows, they try to find their purpose and role in society, as well as solidify their unique identity. Also, they discern which activities are appropriate for their age and which are considered “childish.” They must find a compromise between what they expect from themselves and what others expect of them. For Erikson, completing this stage successfully lays a foundation for adulthood. Recognizing that they are bombarded by virtual contagions such as Social Media and over-involved parents in the intricacies of their lives, plus the influence of peer pressure presents a marked difficulty in the adolescent’s challenges of carving out a true Self. Page 39 Stage 6, is the period of development that includes the 20-39 years of age group. During this stage, teenagers become young adults. Normally at this stage, it’s still a priority for young adults to please others and “fit in.” However, this is also the stage where they begin to draw their red lines: about things that they won’t sacrifice to please someone else. The adolescent is newly concerned with how they appear to others. Superego identity is the accrued confidence that the outer sameness and continuity prepared in the future are matched by the sameness and continuity of one's meaning of Self, as evidenced in the promise of a career. The ability to settle on a school or occupational identity is pleasant. In later stages of adolescence, the child develops a sense of sexual identity. As they make the transition from childhood to adulthood, adolescents ponder the roles they will play in the adult world. Initially, they are apt to experience some role confusion—mixed ideas and feelings about the specific ways in which they will fit into society— and may experiment with a variety of behaviors and activities (e.g. tinkering with cars, baby- sitting for neighbors, affiliating with certain political or religious groups). Eventually, Erikson proposed, most adolescents achieve a sense of identity regarding whom they are and where their lives are headed. The teenager must achieve identity in occupation, gender roles, politics, and, in some cultures, religion. Erikson is credited with coining the term "identity crisis".19 Each stage that came before and that follows has its own 'crisis', but even more so now, for this marks the transition from childhood to adulthood. This passage is necessary because "Throughout infancy and childhood, a person forms many identifications. But the need for identity in youth is not met by these."20 This turning point in human development seems to be the reconciliation between 'the person one has come to be' and 'the person society expects one to become'. This emerging sense of self will be established by 'forging' past experiences with anticipations of the future. Page 40 Concerning the eight life stages as a whole, the fifth stage (Adolescence) corresponds to the crossroads: What is unique about the stage of Identity is that it is a special sort of synthesis of earlier stages and a special sort of anticipation of later ones. Youth has a certain unique quality in a person's life; it is a bridge between childhood and adulthood. Youth is a time of radical change—the great body changes accompanying puberty, the ability of the mind to search one's intentions and the intentions of others, the suddenly sharpened awareness of the roles society have offered for later life.19 Adolescents "are confronted by the need to re- establish boundaries for themselves and to do this in the face of an often potentially hostile world".21 This is often challenging since commitments are being asked for before particular identity roles have formed. At this point, one is in a state of 'identity confusion', but society normally makes allowances for youth to "find themselves” and this state is called 'the moratorium'. The problem of adolescence is one of role confusion. Role confusion can be explained as a reluctance to commit. This inability to commit may progress with a person into their mature years. Given the right conditions—and Erikson believes these are essentially having enough space and time, a psychosocial moratorium when a person can freely experiment and explore—what may emerge is a firm sense of identity, an emotional and deep awareness of who they are.21 As in other stages, bio-psycho-social forces are at work. No matter how one has been raised, one's ideologies are now chosen for oneself. Often, this leads to conflict with adults over religious and political orientations. Another area where teenagers are deciding for themselves is their career choice, and often parents want to have a decisive say in that role. If society is too insistent, the teenager will acquiesce to external wishes, effectively forcing him or her to Page 41 ‘foreclose' on experimentation and, therefore, true self-discovery. Once someone settles on a worldview and vocation, will they be able to integrate this aspect of self-definition into a diverse society? According to Erikson, when an adolescent has balanced both perspectives of "What have I got?" and "What am I going to do with it?" they have established their identity:19 Dependent on this stage is the ego quality of fidelity—the ability to sustain loyalties freely pledged despite the inevitable contradictions and confusions of value systems. Given that in the next sixth stage of Early Adulthood, where (Intimacy) is often characterized by marriage, many are tempted to cap off the prior, fifth stage at 20 years of age. However, these age ranges are quite fluid, especially for the achievement of identity, since it may take many years to become grounded, to identify the object of one's fidelity, to feel that one has "come of age,” Erikson does note that the time of Identity crisis for persons of genius is frequently prolonged. He further notes that in our industrial society, identity formation tends to take longer, because it takes us so long to gain the skills needed for adulthood's tasks in this world. By Erikson’s standards, we do not have an exact period in which to find ourselves. It doesn't happen automatically at eighteen or twenty-one. A very approximate rule of thumb for our society would put the end somewhere in one's twenties.19 Erickson’s sixth stage of psychosocial development, Early Adulthood presents the challenge between intimacy and isolation. The virtue to achieve during this stage is Love. This stage lasts from the ages of 20 to the late-'30s and it focuses on individuals creating intimate relationships with others. During this period, the major conflict centers on forming intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success at this stage leads to fulfilling relationships. Failure, on Page 42 the other hand, can result in feelings of loneliness and isolation. These feelings lead to the emotional states of depression and anxiety, well documented emotional states that many in the millennial generation are experiencing. The major question individuals face during this stage is “Am I lovable or will I be alone”. The environments which influence this stage are friend and relationship. Keep in mind that every task the individual in their earlier stages of psychosocial development has fostered the virtue learned in each stage. One thing that made Erikson’s theory unique is that unlike many other developmental theories, the psychosocial stages look at how people change and grow throughout the entire lifetime. These adult stages continue to play an important role in each individual's development. This sixth stage of development begins in early adulthood and is centered on the formation of lasting relationships. Those who are successful at this stage can forge deep relationships and social connections with other people. Those that have had societal influences interfere in subsequent stages may find the task of gaining the virtue of love quite overwhelming. Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development proposes that people pass through a series of stages centered on social, psychological, and emotional development. At each point in a person’s life, he or she faces a developmental conflict that must be resolved. People who overcome these conflicts can achieve psychological skills that ultimately last the rest of a person’s life. Those who fail to master these challenges will continue to struggle. The effects of resourceful and tangential parenting, which are lacking in these days plus the effects of social media, leave developing individuals to look more towards social media and artificial intelligence created a challenging perspective. The individual is seemingly more connected to rapid information retrieval and less connected to the virtues either achieved or missed during each stage that Page 43 Erikson proposed in his stage theory. It would be of great psychological and scientific interest that these stages proposed by Erikson be reviewed given the vast change in the psychosocial environment children grow up in. I contend that much has changed during the different stages an individual is passing through the present-day. The great pressure and necessity of accepting that social media, AI, and IT influence the virtue gained or lost and the significant crisis challenges take of a different definition. With many young adults turning to social media as their choice of information gathering, including social mores and attitudes, many of the outside influencers such as parents, have taken a back seat in the formation of a healthy, integrative and comprehensive sense of Self. Page 44 Much light needs to be shed on the psychosocial approach to social isolation and the related dysfunctions resulting in an exponential increase in increase in anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness in the Millennials and Generation Z cohort groups, with signs of further subsequent generations being affected as well. An attitude of awareness and acceptance and recognizing that attitudes are vital forces that enable individuals to confront the problematic subconscious whose filters when at play can bring on physical illnesses or a crisis of the conscious or unconsciousness. Attitudes that keep us away from non-productive habits, habits that drive us away from the hard awareness of the Self. A Certified Natural Health and Holistic Nutrition practitioner (practices Orthopathy) teach the philosophies and behavioral science of disease, psychoneuroimmunology, advanced natural health and healing modalities, which includes detoxification, hygienic diet, regular exercise, fasting, mental and emotional balance. These natural healing modalities work as nature intended, therefore there is not a need to look past nature, our inherent selves to find a cure. Holistic Health philosophies follow along the lines of the natural evolution of our bodies, Fight or Flight as you may, where our body and mind are constantly trying to achieve a healthy functional state. Challenges to health and well-being from a natural healing perspective can be as basic as the goal to maintain the pH balance of our blood at 7.4. This pH balance must be maintained for us to survive. When the pH balance is violated, our mind signals the body which signals the blood to attain whatever it needs to maintain an exact pH balance. To naturally maintain the healthy Page 45 well-being of the organism and the pH balance of the blood is by avoiding acidic foods maintaining a diet of a healthy diet of fruits and greens eaten in the correct combination to avoid fermentation and toxification of the blood. In the relational realm of life, in-person face-to-face connections, relating to others and the social manners we need to better align in the presence of another person can also be solidly taught by a Holistic Health practitioner. We teach to better understand our physiological state and through this understanding better understand each other. Health and disease are the same thing – vital action intended to preserve, maintain, and protect the body. We human beings possess the resources for healing that are best mobilized not by removed scientific overstepping but through communication and supportive human action and interaction. Holistic Health advocates would say that “the human mind is very largely a product of its environment.”22 That, “we are prone to regard life as static and to look upon those conditions under which we grow up as the natural and eternal order of things. It is for this reason that we resist change and are often found foes of progress and enlightenment especially when education and training have caused a thought to crystallize into a habit, its eradiation is exceedingly difficult.“ 22 Changing crystallized habits and thought bundles is the challenge presented to the Millennials and Gen Z cohort groups. Habits that are causing maladaptive behaviors and a range of psychosocial dysfunctions such as the unwarranted increase in anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness in generations during the prime of their lives, undermining hope and progress in a social environment lacking the values of face-to-face interactions. An approach to life, applying Holistic Health philosophies rather than focusing or Page 46 singling out a symptom, anxiety for example, is the centuries proven approach to the health of the human being where one considers the whole person and how he or she interacts with his or her environment. Holistic Health emphasizes the connection of mind, body, and spirit as well. Orthopathy or Holistic Health teaches us that the body slides into a disorder when conditions warrant and slide back into health when conditions improve. Orthopathy teaches that diseases (dysfunctions) of the body and mind are materialized within by enervating habits. Enervating habits is simply self-indulgence. Whether one overeats, overexerts, worries in excess, fears the unknown, can’t control emotions, anger, selfishness, or too much ambition to name a few, cause nerve energy to drop below normal, checking elimination, therefore producing enervation. When enervation occurs, it is followed by Toxemia where the number of toxins to be excreted by the body is higher in volume than the body is capable of processing and excreting. Toxemia causes the organism to be overloaded by toxins by using an overwhelming amount of nerve energy. Nerve energy, the energy produced by the organism to maintain the structural integrity of the organism needs to be present in sufficient amounts to carry out the activities of life. When the organism uses nerve energy above normal production, caused by stress, unhealthy eating, over-thinking and other forms of overstimulation, the organism falls short of eliminating toxins in the blood as they develop; as they accumulate the body gets intoxicated and the organism becomes enervated causing all sorts of organic problems. Enervating bad habits whether from mental issues such as stress, worry, fear anxiety, loneliness, social isolation depression, and hopelessness, as well as physical excesses use up an excess of nerve energy production. When the elimination of toxins is checked and toxins are retained within the blood and bodily tissues result in Toxemia. Toxemia and the persistent presence of Page 47 these toxins cause inflammation, which can lead to chronic health problems and eventual organic change of the organs in the human body. If a child is not taught correctly how to handle “fight or flight” or fear and anxiety, the excessive uncertainty and fear can cause a child to enervate, and no child can thrive in a healthy state of living if excessive stress, worry, fear, anxiety, loneliness, social isolation depression, and hopelessness are present. Healthy parenting rearing practices of love and attention and an end to overprotecting and “hovering over” or simply leaving children to fend life with a screen is Right love. To teach respect is to build on love, tough love shows up as real love when an individual grows up and has the tools to understand how to live life. Children need to learn the lessons of rightful survival from their first breaths to govern their body and their mind. The lessons one learns are by no means perfect, as human nature is imperfect. A human is born with a blank slate and should not be a slave to any shortcomings learned along the way to living a fulfilled life. Yet until one learns to repeal and dispel any wrong that one’s mind can’t set straight, or rid the mind and thus the body of any habits of dysfunctional behaviors, issues that one’s mind finds a challenge to get or set straight, that cause them angst, these thoughts will become things that crystallize into a set dysfunction. Let us be teachers, the story-tellers of Right habits and not enablers of dysfunctional behaviors. Behaviors that will lead to stress, worry, anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, loneliness, hopelessness, and a less than fulfilled life. One of the key aspects of mental health is diet. The Western diet results in an unbalanced food intake haphazardly making the body overly acidic and can make the body’s metabolism rate slow down and make it difficult for our digestive system to break down fatty acids. When this Page 48 happens, the brain and central nervous system cannot properly function and over time one can develop severe neurological problems such as depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, and other more severe mentally related problems (Fanny, P. Dr. (2016). The Acid Alkaline Association Diet. An effective diet is as important as good mental and body work. For example, the modern Western diet is high in acidic foods and if our blood suffers from an acidic condition due to our diet, the blood will naturally go to the body to find the chemical that it needs to balance out its pH balance if that chemical is not present. This chemical is an alkaline, bicarbonate of salt, phosphorous and it is found in the bones. When the blood leaches out phosphorous it weakens the bone structure which may explain why so many have problems with bone and bone health. Seems that hip, knee and other types of joint replacements even stem cell replacements for joints are relevant topics among the medical community personally having several family members being advised to be put under that sort of knife. This would not be necessary if we perhaps followed a healthy regimen that does not tax the bone structures by depleting them of their source minerals. From a personal perspective, I present what was an organic, natural resolution to a medical problem: My brother at a young age was diagnosed with a problem where the ball of his femur bone was flat therefore not fitting correctly into the socket, therefore leaving him with an awkward disability in his gate. Several doctors at that time were consulted and only one advised my parents to administer a healthy clean diet (this was 1955) and indefinite bed rest until the top of the femur bone grew into the socket in its correct shape. My parents trusted this doctor and after two and a half years of being confined to “not placing pressure on his leg whatsoever” the top of the femur bone grew into a ball and a healthy predisposition for my brother of avoiding a disability that would have prevented him from his favorite sport, running! Page 49 An alkaline diet assures that food intake corrects acidity, gastritis, and inflammation of the cell tissues of the body and is crucial to supplement with minerals, due to deficits as in magnesium which is a major contributor to cellular acidosis. An alkaline diet corrects cellular acidosis, thereby, enhancing toxic mineral mobilization within the organism. A high-fiber diet with 80% of food intake that is alkaline-forming is key in lowering progressive metallic acidosis which, by the way, naturally increases with age. The modern Western diet is deficient in potassium bicarbonates, mostly due to soil depletion of minerals. The Western diet also is high in the intake of acid-producing foods all bad news in the cellular toxic load of the body’s tissues. Having a diet of mostly raw vegetables and fruits one can secure mind power and strength must be secured from these sources. The body needs to reduce their cellular toxic load for the ultimate in antioxidant protection. Ultimately an unhealthy physical structure taxes the mind, the mind then can tax the soul or functional consciousness. Physical pain can cause a great distraction to a healthy mental state of being. One can maintain their brainpower and the ability to regulate their mental health through one’s diet. Specifically powerful is the Acid Alkaline Association diet (Fanny, P. Dr. (2016). The Acid Alkaline Association Diet) which is a diet with the sole purpose of maintaining the acid/alkaline balance in the system and providing the ultimate in nerve energy; a diet of raw whole foods, perfectly combined for one’s consumption will stave off enervation and help them keep their organism in an ideal acid balance and physically and mentally prosper. Page 50 Caring for the mind is probably one of the most important factors within the Holistic Health approach to a healthier Self. The study of the effects of biochemicals released in the body based on thoughts and one’s inner Will is one of the most potent advancements within psychoneuroimmunology. Psychoneuroimmunology applies to the teaching of the Orthopathy and Holistic Health philosophies of effectively and naturally controlling thought bundles that enervate the mind therefore effectively managing unhealthy reactions in the body. Our minds affect all parts of our lives, from our mood and emotional state to our physical health. In the presence of a tension headache or a nervous stomach or just the feeling of fight or flight, one can understand how strongly our mental states can affect our physical health. Psychoneuroimmunology is a new branch of medicine based on the interaction of the brain, the endocrine system, and the immune system.23 Psychoneuroimmunology shows that positive emotions can simply have positive physiological effects including an enhanced immune system. And actually, the very notion that positive feelings can affect our body chemistry and effect a change in thoughts and therefore enhance our healing forces is nothing new. Hippocrates insisted that medical students give full weight to the emotions, both as a contributor to the cause of disease and as a factor in recovery. Aristotle discoursed at length the role of the emotions in health and illness and throughout history; physicians emphasized the importance of the patient’s Will to live in treating disease. The brain needs to maintain optimal health through diet and exercise and lifestyle changes to improve the way one thinks, feels, and how one interacts with others and with one’s life. How well one feels helps one succeed in whatever one’s dreams may be during their lifetime. Page 51 Teaching a holistic lifestyle ‘syllabus’ from which one doesn’t fall short and integrating this “syllabus” into every day is the most advantageous way of dealing with thoughts of a negative or repressive nature. Our brains, our minds, our thoughts have the power to lift us out of practically any adverse situation. In Norman Cousin’s book “Head First”23, we get an idea of the power, the nerve power, the life force that the human brain can deliver onto our psyche, onto our very Self. We read in Chapter 2 of this thesis how Helicopter parenting has lead to children missing key developmental changes in their lives. This sort of arrested development shows that parents and society alike got in the way of children taking charge of their lives and integrating key developmental changes that are showing up in painful distressing ways later on in the life cycle. Changing the subconscious, the dysfunctional nature of not integrating psychosocial developmental stages, having a so-called screen for a friend or mentor, shows that these factors are hampering Millennials and Gen Z from taking control of their own life and moods and integrating an enlightened Self with the outside world. Are these cohort groups becoming lambs to the slaughter? The challenges presented in this paper for Millennials and Gen Z can be altered and changed and reversed by alerting as to what basic human evolutionary needs are being ignored and thus not integrated into their lives. How can they feel, understand what is not being integrated into their life to lead a healthier existence? Additionally, we need to introduce possible Cognitive Behavioral techniques and understand, truly understand that Thoughts are Things. And Thoughts need to be ruled by principles built on the theory of a healthy lifestyle. It is then that the body can respond appropriately when it is subject to a healthy mind. In the Homo Sapiens scheme of things, the body surrenders to the quality of the thoughts of the mind (whether mindful or not), the mind surrenders to be governed by a soul, a spirit, and this soul, this spirit Page 52 ultimately surrenders to the guidance, to the principles of a power that is higher than the Self, whatever we may feel that light or energy source may be, God or otherwise. Caring for the health of the mind can include aspects of the spiritual and physical as well as with everything within the realm of holistic health. This can encompass getting enough sleep and making sure that your brain has the rest and nourishment it needs to function well and so the body can produce the nerve energy it needs to function throughout the day. It can also mean reading regularly or doing another activity that engages your mind. Another part of caring for the mind is seeking help for any mental health illnesses with which one may struggle. If one finds themselves battling anxiety, depression, or any other type of mental illness, reach out for assistance. You can only be your best Self if all of you are healthy, and mental illness is an illness like any other – one that needs help and healing. Maintaining an optimal level of wellness is crucial to living a higher quality of life. Wellness matters. Wellness matters because everything we do and every emotion we feel relates to our well-being. In turn, our well-being directly affects our actions and emotions. It’s an ongoing circle. Therefore, everyone needs to achieve optimal wellness to subdue stress, reduce the risk of illness, and ensure positive human interactions and well-being. Whole Body-Mind Synthesis is a process that addresses specific personal projects, business successes, general conditions, and transitions in the client's personal life, relationships, or profession by examining what is going on right now in the moment. Discovering what one’s obstacles or challenges might be, and taking steps to choose a course of action to make one’s life be what one wants it to be. Whole Body-Mind synthesis is an alliance between a Holistic Health practitioner and the client where the synthesis of the relationship continually gives all the power Page 53 back to the client. It is a belief that every person knows the answers to every question or challenge he/she may have in their life, even if those answers appear to be obscured, concealed, or hidden inside. Through a Holistic Health program, one can strive to live a healthy life, naturally. A person learns about the Self, about what makes them tick in today’s modern challenges. Only the individual is the only expert in his entire life who truly knows who he/she is and what he/she needs. The individual is the only expert who can recognize what is best for him/herself. Through practicing the philosophies of Holistic Health one can discover what one’s own personal "best" is and how to appease that ever nagging voice we call the subconscious. Every day one makes choices to engage or not to engage different activities. These choices may range from the profound to the trivial and each one has an effect that makes one’s life more fulfilling or less fulfilling, more balanced, or less balanced, which makes one’s process of living more effective or less effective. The philosophies of a Holistic Health practitioner helps one learn how to make choices that create an effective, balanced, and fulfilling life. While Millennials and Gen Z’s may suffer from low self-esteem or self-worth, both of these afflictions have a profound consequence for how a person may live their life, for how they treat themselves and how we deal and cope with others. The Holistic Health philosophies are simple, similar, and unique, and are easily integrated into the every day. They are second nature. These philosophies create the foundation for the presence or absence of that essential confidence we need to venture forth into the world and create the lives we want and deserve. Being one's most authentic, powerful, and creative self is the foundation for everything else in our lives. If we get that part right, the rest simply falls into place. Page 54 One needs to take the time to care for the spirit. No matter what one’s views on the soul or the afterlife are, there is a piece of oneself that is distinct from one’s physical body or one’s logical mind that is more quintessentially the spiritual Self. One must take time to care for their spirit and check in from time to time with one’s emotional state. Meditation and journaling can be an important part of spiritual self-care, as well as exercise and mindful eating. One needs to take the time to recognize this part of oneself, to acknowledge any struggles, and to care for them. Whether it’s taking time to get a massage or to go for a run during the day, or simply to find the time to be quiet and at peace with this quintessential part of oneself, one’s Spirit. In Holistic Health we understand that all the diseases whether physical or mental are all the same. They are a product of an unbalanced organism. The organism’s diet, thoughts, and actions are all part of the same existence. The organism is presently living a sort of convoluted existence based on personal values and experiences from an environment of static, motionless screens and artificial intelligence applications, applications that satisfy our every need for a possible addictive behavior in the attainment of the next dopamine rush. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter, produces a heightened sense of pleasure. The Holistic Health philosophy is simple and straightforward: The body knows what it needs and wants to find equilibrium and a healthy state of being. It is up to the person, the body’s navigator to understand what it is that they need to do to steer those needs and wants, to know what it is that their subconscious voice is demanding based on all past experiences. These past experiences are thought bundles or schemas that have been allowed to crystallize into habits. Holistic Health philosophies include Natural Laws, laws that are formulas that describe uniformities or Page 55 regularities within nature, the uniformities of nature are intrinsically necessary conditions to a balanced healthy Self. One law in specific is the Law of Vital Accommodation, which is like a natural balance sheet. The law states: The response of the vital organism to external stimuli is an instinctive one, based upon a self-preservative instinct which adapts itself to whatever influence it cannot destroy or control (Shelton, H.M.,(1979) Human Life: Its Philosophies and Laws, Pomeroy, WA: Health Research Books, Pgs.19-20). It continues with that a man who habitually indulges in stimulants would exhaust and destroy himself with but few indulgences if the organism had no means of curbing its reactions against the stimulation and thereby lessening the expenditure of vital power. Therefore the onset of an addiction or an ever-growing need for a heightened state not satiated by the initial intake of the stimulant. In reference to this thesis, the overuse of stimulants, in this case, technology, and technology’s negative effects of too many stimulants on the human organism. The human organism's sense of adjustment and the need for larger amounts of stimulation to get the same heightened state of pleasure: Dopamine release. In much the same way that we apply Orthopathy to physiological and physical diseases, Holistic Health philosophies can be much utilized in curing the organism of destroying itself through self- observation, regulation and self-trust and self-esteem. In the front lines is the power of thought, which to this day is a highly discussed topic. Can changing our thoughts, becoming aware of our shortcomings, understanding why we feel or act and react in a certain way improve mental health and therefore the general well-being of the Spiritual Self? Our thoughts can dictate pretty much how we deal with life. Those thoughts, or actions that cause thoughts, have been ingrained in the subconscious from birth. In fact, from 0 to 8 years of Page 56 age we ramble on through life never really connecting with reality, our subconscious and conscious mind have not yet connected. Yet those experiences early on, also known as the “inner child” can and will dictate our present state of being and how we may interpret our future. Research has shown that our thoughts can help change the pathology of disease by changing the negative outlook of disease into one of hope. The Orthopathic notion that disease is Right action can be translated into mental health in much the same way. The disease and the symptoms of mental health are but an indication of what needs to be done to correct the present state of “mental disease” to a healthier well-being. How do we change Thoughts that cause anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness into one of happiness and joy? It is in our brains as our brains are perfectionists. Once we get an idea in our head our brain will do everything possible to duly finish it, even if it is causing harm. We change our thoughts. We work on the cause of our mental handicaps. In short, the brain loves technology, technology helps release that ever intoxicating hormone, Dopamine, the feel-good hormone. As long as the brain is not taught otherwise we will face the dangers of over-extending on mal-adaptive behaviors and not on healthy interpersonal connections, the Soul will go into a state of latency and anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness will continue to prevail. “I never come back home with the same moral character I went out with; something or other becomes unsettled where I had achieved internal peace; someone or other of the things I had put to flight reappears on the scene.” -Lucius Seneca, Greek Philosopher What does Seneca imply by this quote? Seems like even back in Seneca’s time, (he passed away in 65 B.C. / C. E.) the human race was dealing with “Change.” What is it about change that so can rattle our minds? Is it the sudden inconsistency? Is it getting pushed out of a routine? Is it Page 57 plain fear of moving forward? Yes moving forward. What does the latter represent? Let’s break it down.  “I never come home with the same moral character I went out with:” We encounter so much in our hyper-stimulated world. “Ping” goes the smartphone; “read me,” says the billboard; homelessness surrounds us (at least in my city of Los Angeles). We may then be subject to situations that bring warmth into our psyche, a parent joyfully parenting; an encounter with a random hello; and in my case, people from all over this earth that I meet through my Airbnb unit (pre-covid-19 of course, not many people travel at the moment). Are we the same person we just woke up to? We most definitely are not. We do not have the same thought 5-minutes into a day, let alone at the first glimpse of daylight. Then we go about our day, we are side-swiped with a different perspective, by perhaps a jolting message, that we, if we were listening closely, if we were present in the moment, we may see that a perfect stranger, unbeknownst to us, perhaps our Soul, the metaphysical is budging, nagging, guiding us towards a better situation for our present state!  The most challenging, “becomes unsettled where I had achieved internal peace:” so many times we are led to think that once we deal with a situation, we are fine and on our way. Sure we are, we strive for balance, we educate, put ourselves through the wringer achieving the perfect state and then, What was that? Who is that speaking? It is me your subconscious, your spiritual Self is touching base, saying hello. We deny that whatever we experience in life is recorded on this thing called the brain or our hard-drive equivalent, and that organ is ever-present to send us a jolt from our past, reminding us of the good and the bad, all of our experiences are forever ours. Our internal peace becomes Page 58  threatened by everyday living, something triggers and we may feel like we are back at step one. Oh poor me we may say. Alright already!  This leads to last and not least, “someone or other of the things I had put to flight reappears on the scene:” Viruses, that is all, viruses, as in our computers come on to the scene-setting our internal peace topsy-turvy. However, if we were to learn that our “internal peace” is in a safe partition protected by our human existence's “anti-virus program,” ever striving to correct or patch those things that bubble up and make us anxious, anxiety as it were, is put at bay and we are brought back to a state of peace, where we are content at every moment. Your soul is ever-present, oh so present! Seneca was right; we are never the same from day to day no matter how much we try to shield ourselves from reality. Yet with acceptance at hand, our lives become richer, we become more compassionate, accepting, and loving. Nothing is wrong, there is nothing bad, it is all good, we always come out on top in one way or another. The world at large is daunting yet we are all one. Together let’s give each other the space to bloom. We are part of a bigger intricate picture, blooming at different stages just like a flower that is ever-bloom dying and being reborn, throwing its seeds to the wind. Let’s turn a page and start a period of growth by coming out of the dead of the past possessing the skills to grow, deal with stalls and preserving enough nerve- energy to re-coop, re-charge, and be at peace. Embracing change, beautifully so! Page 59 During this pandemic of Covid-19, there are many conflicting and contradictory views on the evolving stories of the benefits of surviving life at home, whether it is work, education, or play. Under examination, this presents how society and commerce need to embrace the fact that conducting activities from home or remotely, has become the new productive norm to a new productive workforce, to a new norm for education to a new norm for social interaction. What is noted in literature is that the psychosocial benefits of conducting life remotely present benefits from a better work-life balance to a positive effect on the environment, to having a happy healthier life. I challenge and highly contest these ideals. What is hidden behind this information is the fact that humans are social animals and behind that better work-life balance hangs an unstructured demand on the psyche which is now creating isolation, and left defenseless against the encroachment of social media manias and the brain’s own devices. Loneliness has become a trait in American society. Whether we are experiencing a pandemic or we are not, it is apparent that when working from home, or simply sheltering at home, isolation, and lack of structure does take its toll on the human psyche when people physically distance themselves from others in the community. A sense of isolation increases and this loss of contact exacerbates the widespread challenge of loneliness which is known to be deeply harmful to both our mental and physical health and well- being. A recent article on Covid-19, mental health and loneliness states, “There is a more fundamental obstacle to our mental health and well-being that is harder to see but essential to confront, in our fast-paced, mobile, and globalized world, we have allowed one of our most Page 60 treasured sources of safety, resilience, and health to weaken and fray: our relationships with one another.24 The United States over the past five decades, as mentioned in the introduction of this thesis has experienced a decline in social capital – the network of social relationships, grounded in shared values and norms that gives people a sense of community and support. Younger Americans have fewer closer friends and belong to fewer and fewer communal associations. Younger Americans display less trust for each, not necessarily trust each other less, just display less trust: fear of strangers, mounting social media pressures of a technology-based lifestyle, and the difficulty in establishing meaningful connections due to choice overload, for example in their romantic relationships, this furthers a sense of all aloneness. What is more surprising is that in regards to other generational cohort groups, Millennials and Gen Z seem to suffer more. “What we see with the onslaught of physical distancing and isolation of Covid-19 and the recent flare-up with racial injustice is an exacerbation to the sense of separation between people at a moment when we need more social support.”24 Social isolation is associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety as well as heart disease, premature death, and dementia. The feeling of being alone is also associated with a shorter lifespan. One study found that the mortality impact associated with loneliness is similar to that observed with the harmful effects of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. At a societal level, our weakened connections may make it harder for us to have honest, transparent conversations across political and social divides. This increasing divide in turn makes it more difficult for people to come together and address the daunting challenges life presents us or just face the Page 61 feelings of looming uncertainty in general. Society is witnessing unprecedented changes to social inequality, climate change, and now a global pandemic and these issues are not being addressed at the community-needed level of social commitment. Perhaps it is needed in the course of societal equilibration to re-introduce the Salons2 of the last turn-of-the-century era. Public officials and health care providers are on the right track offering needed education to the younger population regarding the great benefit of learning and adopting coping strategies for dealing with stress, other than just medicating the stress. Exercise, therapy, yoga, mindfulness, emotional regulation, and meditation have all proven to be highly efficient in combating irrational anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, depression, and hopelessness. Social media makes superficial relationships easier while preventing the development of meaningful connections. We can find comfort in Holistic Health philosophies, a natural development of paradigms emphasizing merging technology with nature. Health is the result of natural living. When people live in harmony with their physiological needs, health is the inevitable result. By supplying the organism with its basic requirements (natural, unadulterated food; sunshine; clean, fresh air; pure water; appropriate physical, mental and emotional activities; and a productive lifestyle) while simultaneously eliminating all harmful factors and influences, the self-constructing, self- regulating, self-repairing qualities of the body are given full rein. Holistic Health practices are defined as a principled, belief system in the restoration and preservation of health both physical and mental by natural, unadulterated means as simple as the intake of pure water, sunshine, exercise, clean air, cleanliness, proper diet, exercise, getting outdoors (Biophilia), sleep, rest, correct temperatures in living environments, relaxation, poise and overall a good mental and Page 62 spiritual attitude. Establishing these habits easily become a routine, and surprisingly so, most of us were probably not intentionally taught good mental health hygiene habits. These habits also bring consistency to our lives, promote wellness and resilience, and protect us from becoming overwhelmed by mental illness. And while mental health hygiene habits may vary from person to person, it is important to identify those that work best for us and to integrate them into our day — every day — through reminders and practice until they become a routine that we anticipate with pleasure. Page 63  ENDNOTES 1) Progress. 2020. In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved March 10, 2020, from https://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/progress 2) Salon. 2020. In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved April 3, 2020, from https://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/progress 3) Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, (2020) Wikipedia. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erikson%27s_stages_of_psychosocial_development (Accessed: 21 April, 2020) 4) Adulting. 2020. In Urban Dictionary.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020, from https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Adulting 5) SingleCare Team, 20 May, 2020. Anxiety Statistics 2020. Retrieved from https://www.singlecare.com/blog/news/anxiety-statistics/ 6) Stieg, C. (n.d.), 22 November, 2019. Half of millennials and 75% of Gen-Zers have left jobs for mental health reasons. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/08/millennials-gen-z-have-quit-jobs-due-to-mental- health-issues-survey.html 7) Morrison, Pat (n.d.) 28 October, 2015. How ‘Helicopter Parenting’ is ruining America’s children. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-morrison-lythcott-haims-20151028-column.html 8) Skenazy, L and Haidt J (n.d.) May, 2017. The Fragile Generation: Bad policy and paranoid parenting are making kids too safe to succeed. Retrieved from https://reason.com/2017/10/26/the-fragile-generation 9) Heid, M. (n.d.) 30 April, 2020. The Debate Over Screens and Health is More Contentious than Ever. Retrieved from https://elemental.medium.com/kids-are-staring-at-screens-all-day-is-this-really-a-problem-10ffdeef35f5 10) Twenge, J., Haid, J., Joiner, T. and Campbell , K. April 2020. Underestimating Digital Meida Harm. Retrieved from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0839-4.epdf?author_access_token=AMli- v_NVizlRHfiHJUs2NRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0NyO6WHXhaam3zaljiEGjfZWSw5xRcCYPYjudNb4RKEc1H5eAeNLyrwNM cZ3q6A3hZiGMwJNpRy1HGyUwXOLDn2TDAS79zv5Lgv80kc2gm_6A%3D%3D 11) Ludden, J. (n.d.), 6 February, 2012. Helicopter Parents Hover in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2012/02/06/146464665/helicopter-parents-hover-in-the-workplace?ps=cprs Marano, H. (n.d.) 31, January 2014. Helicopter Parenting-It’s Worse Than You Think. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/nation-wimps/201401/helicopter-parenting-its-worse-you-think 12) Headly, CW. (n.d.) 20 May, 2019. Millennials are the most narcissistic generation buy they are very aware of it. 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Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201806/high-school-and-college-student- anxiety-why-the-epidemic 17) Bee, Helen; Boyd, Denise (March 2009). The Developing Child (12th ed). Boston, MA: Pearson. 18) Sharkey, Wendy (May 1997). Erik Erikson Developmental Theory. Retrieved from: https://web.archive.org/web/20121127075544/http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/erikson.htm Page 64 19) Gross, Francis L. (1987). Introducing Erik Erikson: An Invitation to his Thinking. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. p. 4. 20) Wright, Jr, J. Eugene (1982). Erikson: Identity and Religion. New York, NY: Seabury Press. p. 73. 21) Stevens, Richard (1983). Erik Erikson: An Introduction. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. pp. 48–50. 22) Shelton, H.M. (1979). Human Life: Its Philosophies and Laws, Preface. Pomeroy, WA: Health Research Books. 23) Cousins, N. Head (1989). First: The Biology and Hope and the Healing Power of the Human Spirit, Pg. 2. New York: Penguin. 24) Murthy, Vivek H, Cheneitler, A T.(n.d.) 6 July, 2020. Here’s the Best Way to Take Care of your Mental Health During the Pandemic Retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/opinions/covid-19-mental-health-global- pandemic-murthy-chen/index.html 25) Graham, D.N. (2006 and 2008). Dr: The 80/10/10 Diet: Balancing your health, your weight, and your life, one luscious bite at a time, Pg. 11. Key Largo: FoodnSport Press. 26) The Sleep Judge Editorial Team, “Working with Burnout,” Sleep Judge: last modified July, 19, 2019. Retrieved from https://www.thesleepjudge.com/work-burnout/#different-levels-of-burnout-by-industry 27) Beaton, C. (n.d.) 23 May, 2017. 8 Habits That Make Millennials Stressed. Retrieved from: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/8-habits-that-make-millennials-stressed-anxious- and_b_5924f46be4b0dfb1ca3a0f8a Page 65  ATTACHMENT 1 Fundamental of Health, Dr. Douglas N. Graham 1. Clean Fresh Air 2. Pure Water 3. Foods for which we are biologically designed 4. Sufficient Sleep 5. Rest and Relaxation 6. Vigorous Activity 7. Emotional Poise and stability 8. Sunshine and Natural Light 9. Comfortable Temperatures 10. Peace, Harmony, Serenity, and Tranquility 11. Human Touch 12. Thought, Cogitation, and Meditation 13. Friendships and Companionships 14. Gregariousness (Social Relationships, Community) 15. Love and Appreciation 16. Play and Recreation 17. Pleasant Environment 18. Amusement and Entertainment 19. Sense of Humor, Mirth, and Merriment 20. Security of Life and Its Means 21. Inspiration, Motivation, Purpose, and Commitment Page 66 22. Creative, Useful Work (Pursuit of Interests) 23. Self-Control and Self-mastery 24. Individual Sovereignty 25. Expression of Reproductive Instincts 26. The Satisfaction of the Esthetic Senses 27. Self-Confidence 28. Positive Self-Image and Sense of Self-Worth 29. Internal and External Cleanliness 30. Smiles 31. Music and all other arts 32. Biophilia (Love of Nature) Page 67