Gen Z, Placing Mental Health First
As a millennial, I take anything I read about gen z-ers with a grain of salt. I study with this generation, I work with this generation, my partner is of this generation and with that to me, they seem, for a group of fairly young adults, as highly opinionated, health conscious - thrifty sort, that are either crippling with self-doubt or burning with undisclosed depression. So, I am excited to learn that gen z has shown themselves to be placing mental health first as seen in the results of a poll conducted by Forbes Health.
I grew up with gen X parents and never heard of anything related to having a mental health day or anything concerning balancing mental health in life, work, fitness, or diet. In fact I remember vaguely my father mentioning there’s no such thing as depression, that all is and can be fixed by will and strength of mind. As a millennial I became aware of mental health through self-help, and not just the quirky iconic Chicken Soup of the Soul books but self-help for finance, for creatives, and for sense of purpose. The mission of I believe of my generation was simply to better ourselves so that we may contribute to society. What I am learning is that gen z is viewing mental health as taking priority to other things that my generation would have found more important, for instance — making money.
What I plan to take away that isn’t naturally aligned with how I viewed mental health, is that all things in life contribute to the success of it — diet, sleep, exercise. But I also believe that the items that mine and my parents generation have to add to the gen z equation is keeping in mind relationships and community.
