Adolescence - What? Development Club - Why?

What’s the first thought which pops up in your mind when you hear the term ‘adolescence’? well, defining adolescence is undoubtedly a bewildering task but no matter how you define it, adolescence is an indispensable phase when your learning capability is at its peak, determination and will to bring forth a revolution is utterly high. However, on top of genes and environmental changes mental health, drug addiction, sexual assault, depression etc. takes a toll on teenager’s fragile mind.

“Change is the only constant”, goes a popular saying. Indeed, we may escape from anything, but we cannot escape change, be it biological, physical, or mental. The one stage in our lives when we are bound to face the maximum changes in our life (after embryonic development) is adolescence.

Adolescence represents an inner emotional upheaval, a struggle between eternal human wish to cling to the past and the equally powerful wish to get on with the future. The stages of adolescence include early adolescence from age 10 to 14, mid-adolescence from age 15 to 17, and late adolescence from age 18 to 24. At the surface, the period of adolescence tricks one into thinking about it as rather joyous and euphoric. However, each stage encompasses innumerable challenges and obstacles for teens and necessitates different responses from parents. While the physical changes are quite evident, the intellectual changes are often left un-catered to and that is where the stumbling block for the young frail mind arises.

As per WHO, of the 7.2 billion people worldwide, over 3 billion are younger than 25 years, making up 42% of the world population. If we throw light particularly on the deplorable condition of India then ‘suicide’ has been the leading cause for over 300 “non-coronavirus teen deaths” due to distress triggered by the nationwide lockdown. India's teen suicide rate stood at 16.5 suicides per 100,000 people in 2016, according to the WHO report. This was higher than the global suicide rate of 10.5. There have been a staggering number of suicides among adolescents caused by fear of loneliness, lack of freedom of movement, etc. This clearly exhibits that we have fairly adequate human resources for the years to come and that future generations hold immense potential and aptitude; but sadly, the energy is getting channelized in the wrong direction owing to a lack of guidance and the wrong sources of information.

The day to day hurdles faced by the wretched youth includes self-esteem, body image, mental  stress, bullying, technology addiction, drinking and smoking, child abuse, peer pressure and competition, and so on. Surprisingly, all of these complications are connected to one another like a chain reaction. For instance,when teens face self esteem and body image issues, they become frantic which results in eating disorders. 

It is quite veracious that adolescence is the pivotal phase in any human’s development and progress which is solely the ground for Advance Healthcare Foundation’s establishment of ADOLESCENCE DEVELOPMENT CLUB  . It is a club for us, by us. The foremost intent of the club is to uplift the proficient as well as talented leaders of tomorrow who are the powerhouse of infinite energy and calibre. The altruistic volunteers are putting their best foot forward to be the change they wish to see in the society. Keeping in mind the fact that the greatest wealth and strength of any nation is its youth, the club will call for expressions in various forms by adolescents in order to widen their horizon and keep them engaged.