Substance Abuse and Mental Health Among High-Achieving Students

[Ep. 19] High-performing teenage kids are considered an “at risk” group. Yup, they’re as likely as prone to substance abuse and depression as kids living in poverty or with incarcerated parents. How did we end up here? Don’t we just want what’s best for our kids? We look at this through the lens of parents and covering the role of status preservation, economic scarcity, needing validation, hyper-individuality and the utter lack of purpose.

Episode inspired by the book Never Enough: When achievement culture becomes Toxic — and what we can do about it by Jennifer Breheny Wallace.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

References from the show:

• Ted Gonder tweet
• Khe’s essay on toxic achievement

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