Parents today love to ask: “Was it always this hard?” Short answer: no, you’re not imagining things. Long answer: modern parenting is basically Olympic-level mental gymnastics.

Let’s start with the obvious: parental stress is sky-high. A recent Pew survey found 66% of parents say parenting is harder now than it was 20 years ago (Pew Research Center, 2023). Why? Technology, social media, school pressures, safety fears — take your pick.

So here’s the thing: everybody on TikTok is telling you to be the “main character.” Cute idea. Except somewhere between “romanticize your iced coffee” and “quit your job to travel,” young adults are quietly drowning in anxiety.

Let’s be honest — sleep is the first thing to go when life gets busy. You’ve got school, sports, jobs, group chats, TikTok, Snap streaks, and maybe a parent yelling about cleaning your room. Somewhere in there, you’re supposed to “rest.” Right. The only real “me time” comes at 1 a.m., when you’re tucked under the covers and whispering sweet nothings to your For You Page. That’s not self-care; that’s what TikTok has dubbed revenge bedtime procrastination — staying up late on purpose because you feel like the rest of your day doesn’t belong to you.

According to the World Health Organization, one in seven adolescents is living with some type of mental disorder (WHO, 2021). That’s not just “a few kids who can’t handle it” — that’s millions of teens worldwide. In the U.S., the CDC reports that about 20% of teens have felt anxious in the past two weeks and around 18% report feeling depressed (CDC, 2023). Translation: you are not the only one.