How many students do you know that suffer from mental illness? How many students do you know that have chronic anxiety? Really think about it… because, for me, the answer is most. Most people I know personally, including myself, suffer from either a diagnosed mental illness, and/or experience anxiety daily. Why? Why do kids in our generation have “the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s” (According to Psychology Today)?
Millennials, specifically college students, are in the midst of a mental health crisis. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than five million college students struggle with mental health, and that’s just in the United States alone. Many blame this crisis on the way millennials were raised. Our generation has a reputation for being too soft, coddled by our “helicopter parents” or the-participation-award-generation. There may be truth to that but because of this reputation, we were also raised to seek approval through our achievements and financial success. The mental and emotional pressures of these expectations may be part of the reason that suicide is the second leading killer of college students, according to the ACHA.
In addition to the pressure to be successful, our reality is disheartening at the very least. We juggle classes, jobs/internships, clubs/student leadership, relationships and family obligations, and for what? To accumulate debt, often work at unpaid internships, and make physical and mental sacrifices to stay competitive? Then, to top it off, enter a workforce that is entirely over populated with applicants? Of course millennials are suffering from mental health issues, who wouldn’t be? (Not to mention that many of us feel silenced and underrepresented in our current government…)
Another possible contributor to this issue is social media. Millennials are the first generation to grow up in the entirety of the internet age, having access to many forms of social media from a fairly young age. We grew up in a world much different than the one our parents grew up in. It’s common that this kind of daily access to social media makes millennials feel inferior. If we see someone sharing their accomplishments, we often feel we are not doing enough.
On the bright side, it seems our generation is the one that may end the stigma around mental illnesses and anxiety. According to a survey done at American University, “Millennials were found to be more accepting of others with mental illness than previous generations.” Despite being harder on ourselves, we’re supportive of others suffering from mental health issues. This seems to be the best way to defeat this crisis: stick together. If we support one another through our struggles, and we work hard to dismantle the stigma, we can be the generation that saves ourselves.