Hi, and welcome—or welcome back. This is The Perio Hygienist Podcast, a podcast primarily for my professional colleagues in the world of dentistry, both dentists and dental hygienists along with hygiene and dental students, and, as always, anyone else who cares to listen.
My name is Dr. Ben Young, and I am a periodontist in private practice working in the beautiful city of San Antonio in the great State of Texas.
You’re listening to Episode 81, entitled The Connected Mind: Why Today’s Generation Feels More Burned Out—and Why the Cure May Be One Another
Recently, I’ve been thinking about what it was like to begin dental school. Part of the reason is that I have the privilege of mentoring dental students through the local chapter of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations here in San Antonio. I also have the opportunity to work alongside many of them on mission trips serving underserved communities, both locally and overseas.
Each summer, I meet a new class of students just beginning their professional journey. They are bright, eager, motivated—and, at this point, largely untested by the emotional and mental demands of the profession.
Watching them reminds me of my own first days in dental school. I often wonder how different my experience might have been if someone had prepared me not only for the academic and technical challenges ahead, but also for the emotional ones.
That reflection has led me to a topic that extends far beyond dentistry. It touches nearly every family, every workplace, and every generation: stress, anxiety, and burnout.
One question I hear often—and one I frequently ask myself—is this:
“Are young people today really more stressed than their parents and grandparents were, or are they simply talking about it more?”
As we get into it a little deeper, I think you will agree with me that the answer is more nuanced than we might realize at first.
Our parents and grandparents certainly experienced hardship.
Many endured war, economic uncertainty, physically demanding work, discrimination, and fewer medical advances.
Their challenges were often immediate and tangible—survival, financial security, and providing for their families.
Did they, and if you are my age, did we experience stress, anxiety, and burnout in the decades before this one? Absolutely yes.
However, much research indicates that today’s young adults face a different kind of burden.
Their stress is often chronic rather than acute.
Let that sink in.
They live in a world of constant comparison through social media, rising housing costs, student debt, twenty-four-hour news cycles, and the expectation that they are always available through their phones.
Work, school, and personal life no longer have clear boundaries they once did before the widespread dissemination of the Internet and smart phones.
Research suggests that anxiety and psychological distress have increased among adolescents and young adults over the past several decades. Burnout is also being recognized at younger ages, not only in professionals but even among students.
So, what exactly is burnout?
Burnout is more than simply feeling tired.
It is the consequence of chronic stress that has not been successfully managed. It usually presents in three ways.
First, emotional exhaustion. You simply have nothing left to give.
Second, cynicism or emotional detachment. Work that once brought meaning begins to feel empty. Relationships become transactional. Compassion gives way to indifference.
Third, a reduced sense of effectiveness. Even highly capable people begin to wonder whether they are accomplishing anything worthwhile.
Burnout is not weakness.
It is often the predictable consequence of prolonged demands that exceed our capacity to recover.
But here’s the encouraging news.
Human beings were never designed to carry life’s burdens alone.
One of the strongest protective factors against burnout is something remarkably simple: meaningful human connection.
When people are isolated, something interesting happens.
The mind begins to recycle its own thoughts.
The same fears.
The same worries.
The same assumptions.
Without another perspective, our thinking can become trapped in loops that reinforce anxiety rather than resolve it.
Consider, for a moment, one of the most severe punishments used in correctional systems: solitary confinement.
It is not physically painful in the way we typically think of torture, yet many psychologists, psychiatrists, and human rights experts have argued that prolonged solitary confinement can be psychologically devastating.
Deprived of meaningful human contact, conversation, and normal sensory stimulation, people often experience anxiety, depression, irritability, difficulty concentrating, distorted thinking, and, in some cases, hallucinations.
Why?
Because the human brain was never designed to function in prolonged isolation.
We regulate one another through conversation, facial expressions, shared experiences, and simple human presence.
While the everyday loneliness that many people experience is certainly not the same as solitary confinement, it reminds us of an important truth: connection is not merely a luxury—it is a biological and psychological necessity.
Our minds flourish not in isolation, but in relationship—if we permit it.
Yet many of us, especially when immersed in work, school, or an all-consuming project, make the mistake of withdrawing from the very people who help keep us mentally and emotionally healthy.
We tell ourselves that we don’t have time for family dinners, coffee with a friend, or an evening walk with a spouse.
But in doing so, we forget that our brains need periods of renewal just as our muscles do.
Genuine face-to-face conversation, shared laughter, and the simple presence of those who know us well provide a kind of restoration that no amount of scrolling, texting, or online interaction can fully replace.
Productivity often convinces us that isolation is efficient, but human flourishing reminds us that meaningful relationships are essential. Sometimes the most important work we can do is to step away from our work and reconnect with the people who help us think more clearly, feel more deeply, and live more wisely.
Which brings me to one of the most important tools available to the busy person—an intentional support group.
Support groups work, in part, because they interrupt the self-reinforcing loops of an isolated mind.
When someone says, “I’ve experienced that too,” shame begins to dissolve.
When someone offers a different perspective, our own thinking expands.
When someone reminds us that there is hope because they have walked the same path, we begin to imagine possibilities we could not see alone.
I like to think of it this way: the brain was designed to think, but not to think alone.
No single mind has all the answers.
Each of us sees only part of the picture because our understanding is shaped by our own experiences. When we have an honest conversation with someone else, we gain access to what they have learned through their successes, failures, and life experiences.
Whether we’re talking with a trusted friend, a mentor, a spouse, or established confidentiality of a support group, we often discover that another person’s perspective helps us see what we could not see by ourselves.
But there is another remarkable way we connect with other minds.
We do it by reading.
In today’s world, that may be one of the most countercultural habits someone can purposefully cultivate.
We are constantly surrounded by instant images, short videos, and endless scrolling—all designed to capture our attention for a few fleeting seconds before moving us to the next thing.
Reading does the opposite.
It slows us down.
It invites us to think deeply, reflect carefully, and engage with another person’s ideas in a way that strengthens attention, expands perspective, and nourishes mental well-being.
What I am saying is that a great book is more than ink on paper—it is a conversation across time.
When we read, we engage deeply with another person’s thoughts.
We pause.
We reflect.
We question.
We imagine.
We wrestle with ideas.
Reading demands participation.
Again, let’s contrast this with much of today’s media.
Short video clips, endless scrolling, and constant notifications encourage rapid shifts in attention. They are designed to capture us quickly and move us just as quickly to the next thing.
Reading asks something different of us.
It asks us to slow down.
To concentrate.
To think.
To connect ideas.
A good book allows another person’s wisdom to quietly enter our minds. Because we are not defending our opinions or preparing our next response, we can listen more openly, think more deeply, and let good ideas take root.
That doesn’t mean videos or podcasts have no value—they certainly do. They can educate, inspire, and introduce us to new ideas. But there is something uniquely powerful about sustained reading. It strengthens attention, deepens understanding, and often leaves a more lasting impression because the mind must actively participate rather than simply observe.
The same principle applies to human relationships.
A text message is helpful.
A video call is often better.
But sitting across from another person, making eye contact, noticing their expressions, hearing the pauses in their voice—these experiences engage us in ways that screens cannot fully reproduce.
To the extent that we live as relational beings, seems to improve our mental health.
This is because our minds regulate one another.
Our emotions stabilize one another.
Our perspectives broaden through our close personal interactions with one another.
Perhaps that is why some of the most healing words we ever hear are simply, “I understand.” Or “I hear you.” Or “That sounds hard.”
If you’re feeling overwhelmed today, consider this.
The answer may not be to think harder.
It may be to think out loud with others.
Call a friend.
Join a discussion group.
Find a mentor.
Become part of a support group.
Sit down over coffee with someone whose judgment you trust.
Allow another mind to enrich your own.
Because an isolated mind tends to become confined by its own patterns of thought.
Through conversation, and genuine human connection, we borrow the experiences, perspectives, and wisdom of others—and in doing so, our own thinking becomes more resilient, more creative, and more hopeful.
And don’t forget to keep reading. The best one I know of, the most universally published in history, is the Bible. I get that for most it is intimidating to think about reading such a massive book, but it doesn’t have to be. Remember, we have groups around us who can help us understand its content. They are called churches.
Stress may be inevitable.
Burnout is common.
But isolation doesn’t have to be.
This concludes this episode of The Perio Hygienist Podcast.
If you found it helpful, consider sharing it with a friend, family member, colleague, fellow dental hygiene or dental student, anyone really, especially those who seem a bit stressed.
I am still Dr. Ben Young. Thanks for listening.