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Today we all experience many different emotions. Children read the general tension. Adults of all generations worry and think about the future. Which generation has more internal resources to stay resilient in times like these?
According to many representatives of the middle and older generation, it is their peers who feel confident that this crisis can be overcome. While many zoomers (born after 1997) and millennials (born 1981-1996), accustomed to a relatively predictable world, experience a deep sense of anxiety.
“I recommend not to identify with these events”
Guzel Makhortova, psychologist
I believe that the older generation is psychologically more stable — primarily due to age and experience. Perestroika. Nineties. default. Once again default. Our generation has had many crises. Those who are older had to go through the Great Patriotic War. And we all relatively calmly perceive what happened, not as the end of the world.
None of us, representatives of middle and older age, identifies our life, ourselves with the events of today and with the exchange rate. Life is fleeting, and in this fleeting there are many events. Those who can earn today could work yesterday and will earn tomorrow. Money is a business.
Here’s what life experience tells me:
I recommend not to identify yourself with these events, but to fixate on something ordinary. Obsessive-compulsive skills in behavior as a way to overcome stress and psychosis have not been canceled. Cooking. Cleaning and more. Step by step. In order.
For example, I don’t use social media. It’s so toxic right now! And here psychological stability depends not so much on age, but rather on whether there is repressed aggression in a person, and how much of it. Those who have a lot of it are now finding “convenient” targets for themselves. The search for the guilty, anger at those who think differently is just a way to dump, channel your aggression. And this is a matter of internal elaboration and awareness. We have a lot of repressed aggression in our collective unconscious, and we need to be very careful, very restrained.
We maintain awareness and restraint — and the purity of the noosphere is guaranteed to us. This is the most important thing we can do for the good of the world
I think it’s important to understand that the picture that we can see is just the tip of the iceberg. And do not rush to conclusions. The most important thing now is to remain internally stable and collected.
“If the experience of coping with the crisis was not successful, then it is much more difficult to adapt to change”
Anna Ivanyutenko, gestalt therapist
Of course, the older generation has much more experience of experiencing and living through various crises. Due to age, the longer we live, the more we accumulate stories of adaptation to changing conditions. Perhaps what is happening now is comparable to the events of the late 80s and early 90s. And those who were old enough then, who managed to survive the political and economic crises, are now more stable.
This is the first time that XNUMX-year-olds have encountered events of this magnitude and such a disturbing situation (well, or the second time, if you count the pandemic). And, accordingly, now they may have more anxiety about how to survive it. But again, due to young age, there are other bodily resources for recovery and adaptation to new conditions.
On the other hand, if the experience of living through the crisis was not successful, then it is much more difficult to adapt to change. There are people of the older generation who did not quite successfully adapt to the changed circumstances in the 90s or were unable to get back on their feet after some kind of personal crisis. They have a traumatic experience, and today they may experience powerlessness and apathy. That is, not a resource state at all.
“A generation’s adaptability is influenced by its values”
Inessa Zakharyan, psychologist
Many people think that they exist, as it were, separately, that there are no interweavings with others. Especially often I hear this from young interlocutors.
But each generation carries its own unique, unique imprint of time. It was during this period of time that there were such events, economic circumstances in the country, ideology that formed the values of this generation.
What are values? This is an idea of what is significant for us in this world and what we need to be in order to confirm this value in the eyes of society. And they affect a lot — including adaptability.
For those who were born and grew up in the 60s and 70s, it was very important to fit into certain frameworks that helped them survive. Common interests were more important than their own. It was necessary not to stand out, to be like everyone else. People of that time did not have to think much about the future, the patterns were already set.
The next generation, having experienced the stability and predictability of life in the USSR in the 80s, was already better aware of their personal needs. It became possible to take initiative, think about your own benefit, take responsibility and go against the wind when necessary.
Representatives of the next generation remembered parental anxiety in the 90s. The old morality was swept away, which shocked the elders and delighted the youth. “Take everything from life”, “Do not slow down — snickers”. The value is to be cool, wealthy, have a status and be accepted into the “crowd”. These people are good at defending their interests.
Zoomers came to the world of revived fantasy. Digitization, the Internet, gadgets and an endless stream of information. He needs to be dealt with. And there is no time to sit, think, weigh. Hence impulsiveness, spontaneity, but often thoughtlessness of actions. They are brave, they try very hard to express their opinion and somehow change the situation if they do not like it. True, the consequences are rarely calculated. But in their impulse they are honest. These people are quite open and passionate about what is important to them.
The result?
People who successfully cope with life’s crises have invaluable survival skills and recipes that help you find resources in yourself. A generation that has analytical skills will be able to choose quickly, based on analysis, find the best solutions from the proposed ones. And the courage and quickness of mind of zoomers is necessary to overcome natural procrastination.
So who is more resilient now? It seems that those who are able to stay in touch with loved ones, help them and stick together despite differences. So we can exchange understanding, experience, energy, spontaneity with each other in order to survive difficult times.