Stress? Gee, maybe teen-agers 200 years ago did not mutilate themselves because they had no stress. Were there anything to be stressed out about then? No washing machines or any other machines, it was a constant battle to keep clothing and self clean to ward of vermin and parasites. No hot running water, the expectant teen-age mother knew she was very likely to lose her life giving birth to her child, even if she died, there was a very great chance her child would never reach adulthood, having died from the many fatal childhood diseases that had yet to be eradicated. No penicillin, keep a wound very clean, you get infected, you get amputated, do not have sex with anyone but who you are married to, if you contract a veneral disease there is no penicillin, you have this disease for life. If you live 200 years ago you are a teen-age farmer, have your guns and weapons with you as you perform the work that means living or starving during the coming winter, there is a brutal race war going on . Must not have been a stressful time then though, the teen-agers were not practicing self mutulation.
I too am tired of hearing how hard kids have it today. Hey kids, Shut up!
Well, I am pretty sure you are being sarcastic, but there is truth in what you are saying. I have a teenage son, and based on what I am seeing, here's what I think:
There is an overabundance of false self-esteem pumped into these children - They are for the most part, given everything they want, work for nothing, their parents fight all their battles for them and compensate for every failure they have. The result is that they have no sense of pride in anything they do, very little work ethic, no self-reliance and no sense of value in themselves, no sense of purpose. To look at them you may think they are quite spoiled, egotistical and arrogant. Underneath, there is a whole other thing going on.
They are stressed and insecure in part because they have been told there is no need to improve themselves and they know that it's not the truth. They are spoiled and selfish, and in a deep place inside some of them hate themselves and feel empty. The ones who cut themselves are doing it, many times, just to feel something, anything at all.
True self-esteem comes from self-reliance based on discipline, hard work, a sense of duty and character building in faith.
The teens two hundred years ago, knew what work was - their survival depended on it - they knew what the real world was, they had a sense of purpose and knew that what they were doing was valuable. There was a simple 'right and wrong' that was pretty consistent wherever they went.
I see a huge difference in children today who are not given everything and who must figure out ways to work for the things that are not 'necessities'. I'll stop here, I have to go. I hope I made some sense.
They mutilate themselves because they live in a culture that encourages it.
Or... stuff like this went unnoticed and unreported.