Uncovering the Adolescent Male Brain and its Cognitive Functions: New Frontiers in Neuroscience and Mental Health Research

The teenage brain, especially the male brain, is one of the great scientific and social mysteries. While scientists have conducted countless studies around how adolescent males think, view the world and interact with others, it’s become even more difficult in recent years with the Covid-19 pandemic and its lingering effects.  

Teenage boys that grew up during the global lockdowns underwent unprecedented changes in their brains for people of that age. Studies have shown that they went through more turbulent ups and downs that any past group of teenagers, largely due to the isolation, rapid change in routine, social situations, and other massive culture shifts that happened during 2020.  

Now that we’re a few years removed from the pandemic, scientists are starting to see the effects it had on young men and how they interact with the world now that they’re starting to get older, develop their mature personalities and realize harsher realities of life.  

Because many adolescent boys were already dealing with difficult situations prior to the pandemic, the lockdown ended up causing even deeper issues that can linger today with young men, causing struggles on their path to growing up. 

At The Carpenter Shed, we live to help young boys find a sense of purpose, meaning, and direction, leading them to a better, more fulfilled life. Our program can help men realize what they need to ditch toxic behavior and find a better way forward.  

Let’s dive into a few of the recent changes in the male adolescent brain since the pandemic and how they can make life more difficult. 

The Effects on the Adolescent Brain Since the Covid-19 Pandemic 

The immediate lockdown and isolation that came with the Covid-19 pandemic stunted the growth of many young boys.  

Scientists have realized that it ended up aging their brains faster than they did prior to the virus spreading in young boys of a similar age, even by as much as four years. 

This was a startling realization for researchers, and it explained many of the other issues that came about during the pandemic. While it did cause more difficulties for females, young men still found themselves struggling to handle the day-to-day stressors of everyday life and saw negative impacts on their well-being.  

Eating disorders, confidence issues, depression, and difficulties with assimilating into normal social situations, especially with the advent of social media and smartphones and how they impact people, have grown substantially as a result of the stunted brain growth. This can be incredibly harmful as young boys try to grow into healthy, well-rounded adults that contribute to society. These are formative years that propel men into who they’ll be in life, so having the right foundation is critical for making sure they move towards the right path. When dealing with deep stressors, it can feel impossible to do what you need to do, and in turn, men often turn to negative dopamine hits to fill a void. 

Many of these issues come about because of the societal expectations of men and the different ways that they’re wired to not take the most obvious healthy route. Let’s dive into some of the ways men are pressured into these different scenarios so that we can better understand them.  

The Societal Expectations of Men and Their Natural Inclination to Push Away Help 

The social constructs of today’s society make it more difficult for men to admit they need help and find someone to assist with potential problems.  

There are many factors today that make men, especially young men, feel like they need to be masculine and filled with machismo. This comes out through social media, Hollywood, and in some cases, how men are raised. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with men wanting to come off as strong or tough, it can be problematic if it’s done in a toxic way that negatively affects their well-being and other people around them.  

Feeling strong and masculine doesn’t have to mean that you can’t ask for help, but far too often, that’s how men interpret it. This can hinder the way they grow in drastic ways. 

If a young man has a problem, whether that be depression, self-confidence or other social issues, rather than finding someone can help them or listen to their struggles, they will often seek out alternative ways to numb the pain. These can be healthy, but more often than not, it’s drugs, alcohol, pornography or other temporary dopamine plugs that end up causing harm. Even if someone partakes in a healthy distraction, it’s still a distraction. Refusing to acknowledge the root cause of an issue will only help it persist and continue to cause harm to someone.  

However, if a young man feels like they can ask for help and address the issues causing them pain and hurting their wellbeing, then they can move forward and reach a better place.  

All too often, we see men come to The Carpenter Shed in this scenario where they’re failing to understand the importance of seeking help, but we understand that it isn’t always that easy. 

Men often feel that asking for help is a sign of weakness, causing them to push people away. Doing this is the ultimate way for men to start down a path that leads to negative feelings and issues. If men are raised in an environment where they don’t feel like they can speak out and always need to convey a masculine, manly front that’s impenetrable. It’s incredibly difficult for men to find their way to a better situation if they feel that they always have to portray something that’s counter to the way they truly feel. This leads to difficult issues and makes it so that no one can find a way to help them.  

No one, not only young men, will struggle with their identity and feelings if they don’t feel that they can be free and express what’s going on with them. This is an incredibly common part of the male experience, and it can lead to major problems in adolescence and eventually adulthood. 

High Testosterone Levels Can Cause More Risky Behavior in Young Men 

Scientists have found evidence suggesting a correlation between testosterone and risky behavior. This could explain how men are often likely to be more aggressive and find their way into dangerous activities with less apprehension and caution than women. Dopamine-filling activities often involve risk, so men are more likely to undertake them and carry on a negative path.  

With this information, it’s incredibly important for young men to find someone that can be a positive influence on their life and send them on a healthy path. There are less barriers for men to jump into something daunting and potentially unhealthy, causing them harm down the line and even starting a negative pattern.  

That’s everything we aim to do at The Carpenter Shed and always push men to find a better situation with our help.  

The Carpenter Shed Helps Men Find a Sense of Purpose, Meaning, and Direction, helping them Avoid Negative Outcomes 

Here at The Carpenter Shed, our passion is helping young men find a true sense of purpose, meaning, and direction. By instilling them with confidence and helping them find a passion, we can push them to replace harmful dopamine fixes with healthy activities.  

However, the real way we can help our young boys is by teaching them to open up and move beyond society’s expectation that they can’t show any weakness. People need to be able to ask for help and turn to others in times of need. If someone feels that they cannot, this only leads to negative situations that cause harm and hurt their wellbeing.  

We aim to show young men that being vulnerable, opening up to their feelings, and engaging others for help can only lead to good things. Being emotional and sharing with others doesn’t make anyone less of a man; we show young boys that the ultimate way of growing and becoming a man is showing that you can be vulnerable and share your experiences with people. Finding their way in life and moving to a better place helps improve young men's well-being and helps them realize what’s most important to them.  

Our program helps young men identify past trauma, find ways to move past and address it in a healthy way, and then apply these learnings in an everyday setting. Simply knowing what’s bothering you can be incredibly powerful. Knowing what’s exactly troubling you allows you to address it in a real way that seems more tangible and straightforward. By working towards something you can see right in front of you, it makes it easier to address something. That’s what we aim to do here at The Carpenter Shed. 

If you have a young boy in your life struggling with failure to launch, past trauma, or any other issue, we can help them find a better place in life. Reach out to us to help them find a better situation and move towards a better life.