Jul 13, 2026 · 6 min · 9 segments
More and more young people today suffer from anxiety, depression, or loneliness. But it turns out this isn’t a new problem. Sixteen hundred years ago, a restless university student suffered the same…
He felt a gnawing emptiness he couldn't quite explain.
To find fulfillment, he plunged himself into worldly pleasures.
He chased after women.
He described himself as a slave to lust.
He even tried petty crime just for the thrill of it.
He and his college friends, they call themselves the Wreckers, spent their days, as he put it, being seduced and seducing, being deceived and deceiving.
Augustine's father, a Roman citizen and a pagan, wanted him to be a lawyer.
She prayed for him every day, hoping he would see the error of his ways.
Our college student knew he was violating the Ten Commandments, but he didn't care.
They meant nothing to him.
As he matured, he tried to straighten himself out.
He wanted to do better, to be better, to act morally.
He even tried converting to Christianity, inspired by the most famous cleric of his day, Ambrose of Milan.
At one point, he famously prayed, "'O Lord, grant me chastity and self-control, but not yet.'" Augustine didn't mean it as a joke.
He was serious.
He wanted to change.
He wanted to improve himself.
But he also wanted to continue indulging himself.
This inner conflict tore him apart.
Anxious, divided, trapped by his own passions.
He had no one to blame but himself.
Self-improvement doesn't work when the problem is you.
He felt a gnawing emptiness he couldn't quite explain.
To find fulfillment, he plunged himself into worldly pleasures.
He chased after women.
He described himself as a slave to lust.
He even tried petty crime just for the thrill of it.
He and his college friends, they call themselves the Wreckers, spent their days, as he put it, being seduced and seducing, being deceived and deceiving.
Augustine's father, a Roman citizen and a pagan, wanted him to be a lawyer.
She prayed for him every day, hoping he would see the error of his ways.
Our college student knew he was violating the Ten Commandments, but he didn't care.
They meant nothing to him.
As he matured, he tried to straighten himself out.
He wanted to do better, to be better, to act morally.
He even tried converting to Christianity, inspired by the most famous cleric of his day, Ambrose of Milan.
At one point, he famously prayed, "'O Lord, grant me chastity and self-control, but not yet.'" Augustine didn't mean it as a joke.
He was serious.
He wanted to change.
He wanted to improve himself.
But he also wanted to continue indulging himself.
This inner conflict tore him apart.
Anxious, divided, trapped by his own passions.
He had no one to blame but himself.
Self-improvement doesn't work when the problem is you.
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