MUMBAI: News stories of teens killing their parents do not surprise psychologists anymore. Acknowledging Tuesday’s Vasai case in which a teen strangled his “nagging” mother with a belt as an extreme, mental health experts say strained relations between teens and parents have become commonplace, especially since the lockdown began last year.
The Covid-19-induced uncertainty and exposure to “desensitising content” have aggravated violent impulses in teenagers, say experts.
Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist Seema Hingorrany sees the Vasai case, in which the teen told the police his mother was an alcoholic and things worsened after his father’s demise last year, as a manifestation of “unprocessed trauma”.
“He must be reeling under the grief of his father’s loss. In families with alcoholic parents, psychotic depression is common among kids as they have no one to turn to for processing their emotions,” says Hingorrany, adding that the spur-of-the-moment act may have been the fallout of many months of built-up trauma.
Over the past few months, cyber psychologist and psychotherapist Nirali Bhatia encountered clients between the ages of 16 and 24 years old who are stressed about an uncertain future.
“The typical human mind needs a framework, something to look forward to. But the external uncertainty of the last two years along with prolonged exposure to the highlight reels of peers and violent content on OTT platforms, has impacted many kids during teenage, a precarious time when the brain undergoes chemical changes. They are not able to learn values such as patience,” says Bhatia, who has not only seen cases such as a mother come in with “blue-black eyes” after being beaten up by her child for taking away his device but also knows of instances where children who are addicted to mobile phone games have beaten up their grandparents.
