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  • NARRATOR: As teenagers,

  • Spanish twins, Emilio and Ivan Martinez

  • moved thousands of miles to LA,

  • where they became hugely famous

  • for making content.

  • But living far from home in a house of other teenagers

  • filled them with anxiety

  • that they are still struggling with.

  • -We were 17. We were young. -We were young.

  • We were young, and...

  • and that's...

  • that's where we started being anxious 'cause...

  • we were down and we didn't know how to handle it.

  • Yup.

  • [THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

  • NARRATOR: The School of Life is sending

  • some of YouTube's most popular creators

  • on a series of field trips,

  • to explore some of philosophy's most intriguing ideas.

  • This time, the Martinez Twins...

  • Martinez Twins

  • We're about to hit it

  • NARRATOR: ...best known for their online videos, blogs and pranks,

  • are looking at anxiety.

  • An issue the twins...

  • have had to deal with themselves.

  • I think for us, anxiety is the biggest problem

  • -we have right now. -Yeah.

  • NARRATOR: Anxiety has replaced depression

  • as the number one mental health issue.

  • For many people, it's characterized

  • as overwhelming feelings of loneliness,

  • inadequacy and failure.

  • Magnified by social media

  • with its never-ending images of unattainable perfection.

  • In this video,

  • we're going to discover

  • how the Martinez Twins experience the situation

  • that sent their anxiety levels through the roof.

  • They'll discover more about what makes them anxious, and why.

  • And then we'll learn some practical steps we can all take

  • to help us avoid anxiety.

  • But first...

  • A 60-second guide to anxiety.

  • We live in a time of high anxiety,

  • with social media providing constant updates

  • on just how much fun and success everyone else is having.

  • Why is everyone else enjoying a better career,

  • more friends, nicer stuff and better sex than we are.

  • It's the age of ultimate FOMO.

  • But there's nothing new about our constant state of anxiety.

  • Being anxious is just who we are.

  • Countless generations of evolution

  • have favored the survival of the natural-born warrior.

  • -[MAN SCREAMS] -The ones who didn't worry, got eaten by wild animals.

  • -[GROWLS] -But there is an antidote,

  • of sorts. Previous cultures

  • could draw upon deep wells of spirituality

  • to assure them that everything was fine.

  • They didn't worry about every little detail

  • because they believed that ultimately

  • they were part of a bigger plan.

  • A tiny cog in a giant machine.

  • Can we rediscover that freedom from anxiety

  • by letting go of our egos?

  • Finding relief and even taking delight

  • in the knowledge that it's not all about us.

  • Accepting that we and everyone else on the planet

  • are just fallible imperfect warriors

  • won't stop us from being anxious,

  • but could it stop us being anxious

  • about being anxious?

  • EMILIO: We were born in Spain

  • and we started making videos on the internet,

  • having fun, and we didn't know

  • -this was about... -...to be our life.

  • NARRATOR: Having built a following at home in Spain,

  • the Martinez twins moved to America,

  • to join a group of other young influencers

  • who lived together in a house in Los Angeles.

  • Within just three months, their fan base soared

  • from 400,000 subscribers to over three million.

  • [CROWD CHANTING] Go, Martinez! Go, Martinez!

  • NARRATOR: But the environment they found themselves in

  • became hugely stressful for the 17-year-olds.

  • Away from home for the first time,

  • barely speaking English,

  • and without any family support,

  • the twins experienced overwhelming feelings of anxiety.

  • And moved back to Spain,

  • where they stopped creating content altogether.

  • I want to say thank you to, um, our fans.

  • -We love you guys so much. -Bye, guys.

  • -Peace. -Peace.

  • NARRATOR: So, where does the feeling of anxiety actually come from?

  • Dean Burnett is a doctor of neuroscience,

  • who explains the physical origin of anxiety

  • in the evolution of the brain.

  • A lot of this anxiety is down to

  • how our brains have evolved and developed,

  • but they've done this over millions of years.

  • Of course, the modern world is only a few 100 years old,

  • and our brains simply haven't had the time to develop

  • ways to recognize and cope with modern threats, dangers and issues

  • which cause anxiety.

  • So, if you see the brain here,

  • this part at the top there, that's the neocortex.

  • That's the most complex part of the brain.

  • That's the human part of the brain

  • where all our imagination and planning

  • and thinking and language comes from.

  • That's relatively new,

  • and evolved less than two million years ago.

  • Whereas this part here, the limbic system in the middle,

  • that's where the threat response comes from.

  • That's like 50 million years old or older.

  • That's from a time when we were primitive creatures.

  • We were constantly encountering predators and dangers and risks.

  • Whereas now we have taken control over the world.

  • And as a result of this,

  • the fundamental parts of our brain

  • which control the fear and anxiety response,

  • they don't really have the ability

  • to tell the difference between

  • -being chased by a lion... -IVAN: Mmm-hmm.

  • DEAN: ...and the possibility of putting a video online

  • -that people don't like and having a negative reaction. -Yeah.

  • So, the brain responds to these things

  • in the same way when it shouldn't.

  • People your age are actually far more prone to anxiety

  • because the parts of your brain

  • which tell those fundamentals bits,

  • "Keep quiet, calm down," those are still developing.

  • EMILIO: We thought that we were the only ones...

  • -IVAN: Yeah. -EMILIO: ...at these situations.

  • It's a common thing, like, a lot of people have it.

  • You're not alone.

  • NARRATOR: Understanding that our brains are hard-wired to make us feel anxious

  • is the first step to learning that anxiety is natural, not abnormal.

  • We need to learn to accept it.

  • But we also need to learn to cope with it.

  • Dr. Elena Touroni is a consultant psychologist

  • who specializes in treating anxiety disorders.

  • Unusually, for such inseparable identical twins,

  • Emilio and Ivan are taking turns to confide in Elena.

  • While we were in the US,

  • we were working everyday.

  • There was a lot of pressure.

  • I don't wanna fail.

  • And if I fail, I don't want my brother to fail.

  • And my mind thinks,

  • "If you don't wanna fail, just don't do it."

  • One thing that I noticed is that both you and your brother

  • mentioned, sort of, very powerfully,

  • this idea of wanting to get out of the situation.

  • -IVAN: Mmm-hmm. Yeah. -Kind of run away from the situation,

  • which is very typical of anxiety.

  • Whenever we're feeling threatened,

  • we want to escape.

  • If you were able to challenge that negative thought,

  • and giving yourself a positive message,

  • "Look, it will be okay."

  • We've done this a few times,

  • people really enjoy watching us.

  • And even if something was to go wrong momentarily,

  • you and your brother will be able to find a way to recover.

  • It's really important not to become too worried

  • about being worried,

  • It's very straightforward

  • to, kind of, get help

  • -with feelings of anxiety. -EMILIO: Mmm-hmm.

  • Very simple techniques,

  • such as deep breathing, mindfulness,

  • can make a very big difference to relieving feeling of anxiety.

  • NARRATOR: Mindfulness is the process of focusing the mind

  • on experiences in the present moment,

  • and one of the most effective ways of combating anxiety.

  • Veronika Rakli teaches relaxation through aerial yoga.

  • Can she help the twins relieve their anxieties

  • by learning to experience the joy of the present.

  • VERONIKA: What brought you here today?

  • -To feel safe... -VERONIKA: Okay.

  • ...when I feel anxious.

  • So, this is what aerial yoga can help with,

  • to soothe the body.

  • Sitting in hammocks helps you to feel more secure.

  • More safe.

  • Because you can create your own bubble

  • around your body.

  • It is only you, your mind, your body.

  • You are present in the moment and you are present in the body.

  • And how do you feel now?

  • I feel relaxed.

  • -I almost fell asleep. [CHUCKLES] -IVAN: Yeah.

  • This really works.

  • 'Cause you gotta be focusing on what you're doing.

  • And your mind is, like, really clear.

  • And I feel great.

  • NARRATOR: We can all learn to cope with anxiety

  • and live calmer lives

  • by doing five simple things.

  • We do too much,

  • and then complain that our lives are too hectic.

  • But what registers as anxiety

  • is often the mind's plea

  • not to be continuously overstimulated.

  • We all need to accept that we can't do it all.

  • We need proper sleep,

  • at least seven hours every night.

  • News organizations speak of our need to know.

  • But often we have a greater need not to know.

  • There's nothing we can do about the exploits,

  • disasters and triumphs of strangers we'll never meet.

  • We need to switch off and concentrate

  • on things closer to home that we can affect.

  • Anxiety's the mind's revenge

  • for all the thoughts we try to suppress.

  • We need to allocate time where we have nothing to do,

  • other than sift through the chaotic contents of our minds.

  • Every hour of living

  • requires at least ten minutes of sifting.

  • It would be nice to be rich, famous and successful.

  • But it might be wiser to recognize

  • that a truly satisfying life

  • can be had living modestly

  • and far away from the maniac competition

  • to win the professional status race.

  • EMILIO: Being anxious made us escape from social media.

  • And that is a thing that we love to do.

  • IVAN: If this happens to you,

  • I wanna say to you guys

  • -that you guys are not alone. -Yeah.

  • IVAN: This can be controlled,

  • and you can handle it and you can change it.

  • There's a new future on us.

  • -We're gonna go out, we're gonna have fun. -EMILIO: Yeah.

  • And we're not gonna worry about worrying,

  • which is really important.

  • Hey, guys.

  • If you like this episode...

  • EMILIO: ...make sure you subscribe to The School of Life channel

  • to watch all the cool episodes.

  • -Right now. -Go right now.

  • -Yes go right now! -Right now!

  • Whoo!

  • -Right now. -[BOTH CHUCKLING]

NARRATOR: As teenagers,

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