{"id":140948,"date":"2025-02-10T13:16:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T17:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=140948"},"modified":"2025-02-10T17:08:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T21:08:22","slug":"gen-z-mental-health-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gen-z-mental-health-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gen Z Mental Health Crisis: The Myths &amp; the Real Cause"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Why do Gen Z have more mental health issues than other generations? Have societal challenges created a Gen Z mental health crisis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Abigail Shrier&#8217;s book <em>Bad Therapy<\/em>, young people&#8217;s mental health today differs from that of older generations. Generation Z (those born 1995-2012) struggle with mental health more than previous generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s debunk the myths behind the Gen Z mental health crisis to understand it better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-gen-z-s-mental-health-crisis\"><strong>Gen Z\u2019s Mental Health Crisis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gen Z experiences unprecedented levels of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Shrier specifies that nearly half of this generation think their mental health is poor: 40% have sought professional care and 42% have a formal diagnosis. Let\u2019s look at the reasons behind Gen Z\u2019s mental health crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Could Poorer Mental Health Be a Natural <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-stages-of-life\/\">Life Stage<\/a>?<\/strong><br><br>Some researchers suggest that Gen Z\u2019s mental health challenges may reflect <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC5461877\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">their life stage<\/a> more so than a generational crisis. According to research, young adults in their 20s and 30s consistently report higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression compared to other age groups. That\u2019s because this life stage brings challenges that have always been particularly difficult for young people like establishing careers, finding partners, and managing finances.<br><br>Additionally, studies show that mental health tends to improve as people age. Older adults generally report higher life satisfaction because they know how to better handle stress and have more positive thinking patterns. So, while it\u2019s still important to address Gen Z\u2019s mental health struggles, we shouldn\u2019t assume that poor youth mental health is unique to this generation.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-myths-about-gen-z-s-poor-mental-health\"><strong>Myths About Gen Z\u2019s Poor Mental Health<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Many mental health experts argue that <strong>Gen Z simply faces greater challenges than previous generations.<\/strong> These experts cite three challenges that make this generation uniquely stressed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Smartphones and social media:<\/strong> Experts argue these technologies harm mental health by causing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/low-mood-and-anxiety\/\">depression and anxiety<\/a>, and preventing healthy in-person relationships.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Covid-19 lockdowns<\/strong>: The pandemic forced young people into isolation, cutting them off from friends, normal school life, and social activities during their crucial developmental years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Climate change: <\/strong>Many experts say that young people <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-does-hopelessness-feel-like\/\">feel hopeless<\/a> and anxious about environmental disasters, rising temperatures, and fears about the planet\u2019s future.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Shrier argues that these are insufficient explanations for Gen Z\u2019s poor mental health. She acknowledges that smartphones and lockdowns deprive children of in-person interactions, but she argues that mental health problems among young people were increasing well before lockdowns and smartphones. She also doubts that climate change is a major cause of youth mental health problems\u2014past generations also faced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/existential-threats-to-humanity\/\">existential threats<\/a> like nuclear warfare without having widespread mental health problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>The Digital Age and the Growing Awareness of Trauma<\/strong><br><br>Some experts recognize that other generations faced their share of challenges, but they point out that Gen Z <a href=\"https:\/\/www.charliehealth.com\/post\/gen-zs-mental-health-crisis-collective-trauma\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">experiences and copes with these challenges differently<\/a> in two ways:<br><br><strong>1. Gen Z is more aware of traumatic events.<\/strong> This generation has grown up with unprecedented exposure to information through social media, with 54% on social media for at least four hours daily. This means they constantly encounter news about disasters, shootings, or global crises\u2014creating a continuous stream of potential anxiety triggers that previous generations didn\u2019t experience. So, Gen Z individuals are not only experiencing challenges, but they\u2019re constantly reminded of them.<br><br><strong>2. Gen Z is more vocal about mental health struggles.<\/strong> Unlike their parents or grandparents who often kept psychological struggles private, 87% of Gen Z young adults feel comfortable discussing mental health openly, and many use social <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/internet-platform\/\">media platforms<\/a> to share their experiences and build supportive communities.<br><br>Both Gen Z\u2019s increased exposure to traumatic information and openness about mental health might explain why this generation appears to struggle with mental health challenges more.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-real-cause-of-gen-z-s-poor-mental-health\"><strong>The Real Cause of Gen Z\u2019s Poor Mental Health<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what\u2019s actually causing Gen Z\u2019s poor mental health? According to Shrier, the real cause is the way parents raise their children\u2014an approach that <strong>relies too heavily on mental health experts, therapies, and medications.<\/strong> They rush to have their kids tested and diagnosed at the smallest sign of a problem, treating normal childhood challenges as problems that require professional help. For example, parents might seek therapy when their child experiences common growing pains like anxiety about schoolwork or sadness after a breakup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-myth-of-normal\/1-page-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Myth of Normal<\/em><\/a>, Gabor Mat\u00e9 agrees that society has a tendency to pathologize normal challenges as medical problems, arguing that we\u2019ve lost sight of what \u201cnormal\u201d behavior actually means for both adults and children. He says that many behaviors we label as disorders are actually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-myth-of-normal\/1-page-summary#societal-norms-perpetuate-unhealthy-standards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">natural responses to an unhealthy society<\/a>. For instance, when a child can\u2019t sit still in class, we\u2019re quick to diagnose them with ADHD rather than questioning whether it\u2019s natural for young children to sit quietly for hours. Like Shrier, Mat\u00e9 discourages relying too much on the medical system, which he says reduces complex human experiences to simple symptoms that need to be fixed with medication.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shrier points out that youth mental health is poorer than ever despite therapy, medication, and mental health accommodations becoming <em>more <\/em>available\u2014a trend she refers to as the <em>treatment-prevalence paradox<\/em>. This paradox suggests that mental health treatments aren\u2019t helping and are even making things worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Some experts argue that the paradox doesn\u2019t suggest that treatments don\u2019t work\u2014it\u2019s just that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.annualreviews.org\/content\/journals\/10.1146\/annurev-clinpsy-080822-040442?TRACK=RSS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">most people can\u2019t get proper access to them<\/a>. According to research, over 90% of people globally who need mental health treatment can\u2019t get it, especially in low- and middle-income countries where trained professionals are scarce. Even in wealthier countries like the United States, most people receive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/taking-care-of-your-mental-health\/\">mental health care<\/a> from primary care doctors who often lack the specialized training and time needed to implement treatments correctly.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why do Gen Z have more mental health issues than other generations? Have societal challenges created a Gen Z mental health crisis? According to Abigail Shrier&#8217;s book Bad Therapy, young people&#8217;s mental health today differs from that of older generations. Generation Z (those born 1995-2012) struggle with mental health more than previous generations. Let&#8217;s debunk the myths behind the Gen Z mental health crisis to understand it better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":141009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,9,24],"tags":[1738],"class_list":["post-140948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-psychology","category-society","tag-bad-therapy","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Gen Z Mental Health Crisis: The Myths &amp; the Real Cause - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many health experts claim that there&#039;s a Gen Z mental health crisis because of life-changing world events and technology. Let&#039;s debunk that.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gen-z-mental-health-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Gen Z Mental Health Crisis: The Myths &amp; the Real Cause\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many health experts claim that there&#039;s a Gen Z mental health crisis because of life-changing world events and technology. 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