Gen Z: The “Mental Health Generation”
For many decades, mental health has been a taboo issue. The silent suffering of generations that lacked proper resources and understanding of mental health struggles is what empowered regular people to become mental health champions, giving birth to organizations like NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).
Nowadays, the conversation around mental health is much more open than before. This change is thanks to the efforts of those who came before us, who helped us gain a more honest, resourceful, and educated understanding that mental health affects us all, and we can't afford to ignore it.
According to the report “Stress in America: Generation Z” by the American Psychiatric Association in 2019, those born between 1997 and 2012, the first generation wholly raised in the internet and smartphone era, have faced tumultuous times, including 9/11, school shootings, a global pandemic, political unrest, etc.
“These factors have made Gen Z the most likely to report poor mental health and, at the same time, significantly more likely to seek professional help for mental health issues, according to the American Psychological Association’s 2018 survey”
Such challenges have made Gen Z the most stressed-out generation right now (https://www.verywellmind.com/state-of-mental-health-across-generations-5189603): “91 percent of Gen Zs between ages 18 and 21 say they have experienced at least one physical or emotional symptom due to stress in the past month compared to 74 percent of adults overall.”
These factors have made Gen Z the most likely to report poor mental health and, at the same time, significantly more likely to seek professional help for mental health issues, according to the American Psychological Association’s 2018 survey (https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2018/stress-gen-z.pdf).
A critical factor in this movement to talk publicly about mental health has to do with the acceptance of mental health and mental illness in pop culture. As more celebrities speak publicly about their own mental health concerns, the younger generations find more acceptance and comfort when speaking out about their own mental health challenges.
We have written before in this blog about specific celebrities and how they approach their own mental health. We believe that the more we make of this an open and honest conversation, the faster we will progress toward ending the stigma on mental health.
Moreover, the use of social media among Gen Z and younger generations has also created a double-edged sword:
While 55% of Gen Z report that social media provides a feeling of support, almost half (45%) also report that social media makes them feel judged, and 38% report feeling bad about themselves as a result of social media use.
Of course, Gen Z is not the only stressed-out generation; many adults of any generation feel stressed. During the APA survey, 64% of adults indicated that they do enough to manage their stress, yet 20% (1 out 5) adults feel they do not do enough, which is an indication of the work yet ahead to make mental health a priority for society as a whole.
Source: “STRESS IN AMERICA™ GENERATION Z” https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2018/stress-gen-z.pdf