Why "The Tortured Poets Department" Resonates With So Many

The topic of Taylor Swift’s artistic merit seems to be as divisive as the great cilantro debate (a flavor to be savored, or a soapy abomination to the herb world?), yet critics and fans alike have praised the verses of her latest album “The Tortured Poets Department.” Celebrated for their vulnerability and relatability, her latest lyrics resonate with current mental health struggles felt by so many.

“All my mornings are Mondays stuck in an endless February.

I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary.”

—"Fortnight"

A sentiment that has been felt by many over the course of the last few years, as the start of this decade brought with it:

• Isolation, loneliness, and uncertainty
• Seemingly growing inequalities
• An uptick in school shootings
• An almost doubling of unintentional drug overdoses
• Increased challenges for LGBTQIA+ identifying folks
• A rise in eco-anxiety due to findings on climate change
• War, intolerance, violence, and division
• Political polarization

Some of these issues still linger, while some have manifested into new instruments of affliction. And yet, experts argue that the escalation in mental health needs began years prior, with more adolescents and young adults experiencing serious mental health concerns in the late 2010s than in the years prior (CDC, 2020; Odgers & Jensen, 2020; Twenge et al., 2019).

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that feelings of hopelessness and persistent sadness in young people and teens rose by 40 percent between 2009 and 2019. In that same timeframe, suicidal ideation and thoughts of committing suicide among young people increased by 44 percent.

Unfortunately, some of the means that exacerbate mental health issues are also tools being used as the “miracle move-on drug.” Such tools include misuse of social media platforms, overuse of technology, and misapplications of mental health outlets, to name a few.

“I’m so depressed, I act like it’s my birthday every day.”

—"I Can Do it with a Broken Heart"

So, the question becomes: What can we do about it?

“’Cause you lured me, and you hurt me, and you taught me. You caged me, and then you called me crazy. I am what I am ‘cause you trained me.”

—"Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?"

1. Untrain maladaptive thoughts and behaviors, while simultaneously replacing them with effective and encouraging ones. Social trends and exposure to negative systems have trained many young people to feel hopeless, desensitized, and inadequate. We must therefore work to untrain these flawed thoughts and replace them with beneficial ones. To do so, we can guide young people to:

• recognizing their values system and how to live a life that aligns with it
• replace destructive habits with restorative ones
• maintain a healthy life balance
• create a customized blueprint for coping with adversities

“But when I count the scars, there’s a moment of truth, that there wouldn’t be this if there hadn’t been you.”

—"thanK you aIMee"

2. Be there to prevent, and to mend, cognitive and emotional scars. Simply being a source of comfort and reassurance is one of the most powerful forms of support. This includes listening with intent, asking nonjudgmental questions, approaching with empathy, and guiding toward healthy solutions.

“The time will arrive for the cruel and the mean. You’ll learn to bounce back, just like your trampoline.”

—"Robin"

3. Teach resilience. The ability to learn from, adapt to, and bounce back from adversity is necessary for overall life satisfaction and the ability to reach one’s full potential. Some resiliency-related themes to highlight include:

• digital resilience (ability to recognize and avoid online risks, to overcome toxic digital experiences, and to self-regulate)
• psychological resilience (use of internal strength to overcome adversities)
• emotional resilience (ability to maintain composure in tough situations)
• social resilience (ability to recognize and avoid maladaptive social situations, to nourish healthy relationships, and to healthily resolve conflicts)
• internal resilience (ability to revise negative self-talk, to live by one’s moral code, and to foster a healthy outlook)

Resilience Essential Reads

The Complex Profile of Resilience

A Surprising Path to Resilience: Your Gut

"This town is fake, but you're the real thing. Breath of fresh air through the smoke rings. Take the glory, give everything. Promise to be dazzling.”

—"Clara Bow"

4. Encourage continuous exploration of values and reflection on the alignment of values with the life they are living. Our young people are grappling with self-identity at a time when accessibility and visibility run deeper and cast wider than ever before. They are exposed to overbearing content while feeling personally exposed and scrutinized.

This constant pressure can be all-consuming. The desire to stay relevant and to belong can lead young minds to lose themselves. They may live a life that misaligns with their internal values system. To counter these pressures and unrealistic standards:

• guide young people in finding a healthy balance between what they view and what they allow others to view on social media platforms
• initiate conversations about reality versus the digital world
• model the act of engaging in frequent self-directed “content checks”

“And the years passed like scenes of a show. The professor said to write what you know. Looking backwards might be the only way to move forward.”

—"The Manuscript"

Source: Pixabay/Pexels

5. Foster purposeful and growth-oriented critical reflection. It can be difficult to view experiences through an objective, principled, and compassionate eye. Encouraging active critical reflection—including (1) grounding oneself in order to analyze an experience with clarity, (2) examining the 360-degree features of an experience, (3) clarifying the features with impartiality, and (4) using this data to make an informed decision—is a vital art.

With that, I feel it only fitting to end with lyrics from one of Taylor’s first albums:

“Because these things will change, I can feel it now. These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down. This revolution, the time will come for us to finally win.”

—"Change"

Our young people are facing unprecedented challenges in this era of technological and cultural revolution, in particular. With the correct guidance and support, they can overcome and achieve greatness.