On World Mental Health Day, a new survey highlighted a striking generational divide in how openly people talk about mental health. Nearly 78% of Gen Z (aged 18–29) said they find it difficult to speak up about their mental health — significantly higher than older age groups. This group are also taking more time off from work with reported mental health related issues.
At first glance, this is odd isn’t it? Gen Z have had access to more information, more school and community based mental health and wellbeing support than most generations but then they also had Covid isolation that disrupted their schooling and early adulthood, loss of youth clubs and professional support.
The same survey report also stated that almost nine in ten Brits, admit to using the phrase “I’m tired” to disguise emotional distress. Is it a bad thing to say we are ‘tired’ as a catch all for ‘feeling below par’, ‘struggling today’, ‘feeling a bit low’,’ tense or worried’, ‘hurt’ etc? Do we need full chapter and verse on every aspect of each other’s fairly normal roller coasters of emotional life in every day conversation?
Of course, tiredness is prevalent, and tiredness aggravates every health condition and emotional distress too. Emotional distress is not the same as mental ill health and is part and parcel of life too. This survey may be more accurately described as looking into wellbeing rather than mental health as clinically diagnosed.
Notwithstanding the reservations about the survey we can suggest for Gen Z respondents, there may be a pressure to appear more ok when they are below ‘fair-to middling’ as my elderly relatives used to state about themselves.
Some possible factors:
- Stereotyping by other generations – Have other generations unfairly described them as lacking in resilience and has this stopped them describing their experience? (Note -particular generational difficulties around cost of living, access to work and rising unemployment, access to renting and buying your home, strife in the world).
- Social media performance culture – Life online rewards positivity, aesthetic balance, and resilience; showing struggle can feel like failure.
- Mental health talk” overload – Mental health language is everywhere, and that might grow your awareness and concern for your own mental health but that doesn’t always translate to safe, trusted community spaces to talk, connect and do activities or exercise or support your wellbeing and access to primary care and specialist services.
- The result is a paradox: greater access to information and awareness, a more limited range of wellbeing descriptors in general use and greater silence. So much of emotional distress is not mental health illness but part of life struggles- being below par. We dip to get back to a norm and experience life’s relative highs. Perhaps we need to find more non-mental health language to describe how we are across the hours and days and present our feelings alongside our compassionate solutions. When we can more accurately assess and articulate our wellbeing we can then begin to address our needs.
Tips
- Try to use ‘now or today’ as a reminder to yourself and others that this emotional state will pass and a cause if you know it.
- I’m a bit overwhelmed right now-so much to do today.
- I’m a bit fed up today- my car broke down.
- I’m feeling a bit teary today-I did not sleep well.
- Practise using a descriptor that also recognises a compassionate solution
- I’m struggling a bit since my grandfather died a month ago but I know it will take time to get back to feeling like me.
- I feel a bit lost and emotional right now but that’s understandable given I’ve been unwell. I guess I need to rest a bit more.
When we can use language effectively for how we feel, we find the way to connect better with ourselves and our bodies and can begin to access some of the solutions to support ourselves better.
P.S
I’m goosed. Thank goodness it’s Friday!
