Breaking the Silence: Gen Z open about mental health challenges

Jul. 31—VALDOSTA — Bailey Storey has been battling depression since middle school. When she attempted to ignore her feelings, it didn't work out as she planned.

"I was basically an emotionless zombie between the ages of 14 and 16, until I finally just began ignoring all my negative thoughts until they finally just went away," she said. "It was a tactic that worked for a while, and eventually, I was able to get back to a sense of normalcy."

Two weeks before starting her first year of college, one of her friends committed suicide, which caused her to go back into her original funk.

After a few months, Storey decided to take advantage of Valdosta State University's free mental health services which began her journey of understanding the route of her depression and anxiety.

Now in her third year of college, she has been diagnosed with moderate to severe depression and anxiety and has started taking medication to help regulate her feelings.

"I've now been on an antidepressant for three months, and although I have spells every now and then, I'm feeling like myself again in a way I can positively say I haven't felt since middle school," she said.

Mental health has often been a taboo subject. According to Psychiatry.org, the stigma around mental health derives from lack of understanding and inaccurate media representation.

But talking about mental health is less taboo for Generation Z.

Being part of Gen Z — people born between 1997-2015, Storey said she hopes talking about mental health can become more open and encourages people to speak out on their mental health. She said the medication is exactly what she needs and feels more comfortable speaking on her experiences with the hope it helps someone else.

Storey isn't alone. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 30% of Gen Z adults from 18-25 are more likely to report on their mental health experiences. This is higher than the other generations by 5-15%.

While the numbers may seem like the generation is the more depressed than others, Gen Z is more likely to report their mental health problems. They are 12% more likely to report poor mental health than millennials, according to American Psychological Association.

Heidi O'Connor, the assistant director of the VSU counseling center, said Gen Z is at the age where they feel like they can create a lot of change in the world. This feeling normally happens around college age, but when they get out of college, they realize the world doesn't exactly work that way.

"It's a hard left turn when they graduate because they realize that they have to pay bills and how they can make this work," she said. "And sometimes you have to let go of some of those really cool ideas and ideals that developed in college."

This happens in every generation, but every generation has different concerns that can cause depression and anxiety. Gen Z, for example, is worried about and wants to change mass shootings, homophobia and racism. O'Connor said the realization that some things cannot be easily changed can lead to depression and anxiety.

According to Pew research, the generation is one of the most educated generations and is more likely to call out social injustice than other generations; 70% of Gen Zers polled said they wanted an activist government, which is 6%-30% more than other generations.

While Gen Z might be the generation to de-stigmatize mental health, talking about mental health does not necessarily treat underlying problems.

"There have been times with clients where I have to start encouraging people to talk about more than mental health," O'Connor said, adding Gen Z needs to learn to properly balance talking about mental health with self care and other basic life balances.

Valdosta State University does have free sources for students struggling with mental health; these include the Student Counseling Center and HOPE Connect, which is an expanded mental health service that is home to Student Navigators, referrals to treatment options and access to Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

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