Today, teens inherit anxiety before they ever get a chance to dream.
Click Here "Your Mind Made That Up" By Shirley Yanez. Cost £4 available on Amazon Kindle
As a common-sense Life Coach armed with seven decades of mistakes, triumphs, and "what-was-I-thinking" moments, I spend my days now helping anyone willing to do the work untangle the spaghetti mess in their minds - including a lot of teens and young adults.
These teens are told to get good grades, earn degrees, land "good" jobs, and somehow build a perfect life - all while running a race they don't even fully understand. By the time they finally pause to ask "Wait... why am I doing this?" they're already exhausted... and probably scrolling through TikTok for answers.
Most Gen Z teens I know are doing everything "right" and still feel like they're failing at life. Digital life rewired their brains fast. They grew up online - comparing themselves to strangers, performing for likes, and absorbing more information in a day than past generations did in a year.
Scroll culture serves beauty standards, success stories, tragedies, and trauma in under 30 seconds. They know everything... and feel nothing - because feeling everything all at once is way too much.
They're the most connected generation in history, yet somehow the loneliest.
DMs replaced deep conversations
Likes replaced real validation
Zoom replaced physical presence
They're reachable 24/7 - but rarely truly seen
My new book Your Mind Made That Up pulls back the curtain on life behind the screen. It helps teens and young adults understand why anxiety and burnout feel unavoidable, why their minds feel overloaded, and how to survive (and maybe even thrive) in a world that never stops demanding more.
These days, growing up feels like starring in someone else's highlight reel - because social media never stops showing everyone else's "perfect" life while you're over here wondering why your toast always burns. Hyper-connectivity sounds great until you realize it's mostly scrolling past people you barely know, leaving real-life connection on the back burner and a "third place" to belong... well, non-existent.
And just when you think you can hide, cyberbullying reminds you that the internet never clocks out. Meanwhile, the news is a nonstop anxiety buffet - from climate chaos to political drama - making teens feel like they're juggling stress, comparison, and existential dread all at once. Growing up in 2026: it's a full-time job with zero breaks.
If you've ever felt tired just trying to keep up - with school, social life, expectations, or the internet itself - this book is for you.
Honest, humorous, raw, and urgently needed: a roadmap for navigating an age of inherited anxiety.
This book doesn't just explain the problem. It helps teens understand what's happening inside their minds, manage the pressure around them, and begin reclaiming connection, clarity, and calm in a world that never stops scrolling.
For Parents (Yes, Really)
This book is also for parents who love their kids deeply - but feel like they're living with a stranger who speaks in shrugs, silence, or one-word answers. If conversations turn into eye-rolls, shutdowns, or "I'm fine" (spoiler: they're not), you're not failing. You're parenting in a digital world no one trained you for.
Your Mind Made That Up helps parents understand the pressure shaping today's teens, decode what's actually happening beneath the screen, and reconnect without constant conflict. A translation guide for modern adolescence - because "just put your phone down" stopped working years ago.