A soft approach to mental health

Kanisa George

WITH everything taking place in the world right now, it’s easy to get sucked into the vortex of doom and gloom.

Unstable economies and the threat of World War III are enough to derail anyone’s mental health. Still, despite undisputed evidence of society’s volatility, I am surprised to discover that naysayers define my generation and the ones after it as “soft.”

Mental anguish is nothing new to the human experience, but according to the war-torn, financially depressed generations, millennials and every generation after have turned mental health into what can only be deemed a vogue discussion.

Very few of the experiences we currently face could be described as unique. Threats of war, social and political instability, pandemics – let’s be real, nothing we’re experiencing now hasn’t already been tried and tested over the last 100 years.

When you think about the now and then, you’ll find there is an overarching sense that the mental health crisis experienced in times gone by only remotely mirrors what we’re experiencing today.

It could be that the empirical evidence needed back then, even to make sense of the public’s mental health, was non-existent. Because, let’s be honest, who in the 1950s really understood what it meant to be anxious? Suffice it to say it might have a lot to do with the “hard persona” many were encouraged back then to practise, which formed a considerable part of their socialisation.

In a time when corporal punishment was lauded and crying was seen as a show of weakness, comparing most of the standards that exist today has somehow caused younger generations to be maligned as somehow weaker and less resilient than their older counterparts.

Admittedly, while making blanket statements about any generation and their views on mental health might be regarded as embarking on dangerous territory, there is a trend associated with each generation that would allow me to plead my case somewhat objectively.

In 2016, the phrase “Generation Snowflake” was added to Collins English Dictionary to describe adults born from 1980 to 1994 who were less resilient and more prone to taking offence than previous generations.

But are we?

It was only after the reign of the hippies in the 1960s that society took a more robust approach to openness and self-expression, bringing with it open dialogue on mental health. This openness has led to deep introspection and awareness regarding emotions and mental health that has grown exponentially over the last few generations. While emotional suppression received approval in past generations, millennials found the open approach emotionally rewarding and mentally freeing.

“Prior generations were taught to repress instead of express, but for newer generations, it’s the other way around,” says Dr Carl Nassar, a mental health professional at LifeStance Health in the US.

Nassar believes this has caused a perceptual rift, with older generations seeing this expression as a sign of weakness because they were taught that vulnerability is a weakness, not a strength.

As such, mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety are more stigmatised in older generations, who view the subject as completely taboo and sadly attached to various misconceptions.

Several studies suggested that younger generations have higher levels of mental health literacy, making them better able to identify signs and symptoms of mental illness and seek help when necessary. A study conducted by the American University in DC states that millennials who grew up hearing about anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and suicide were more accepting of others with mental illness.

The diverging views on mental health between generations can be blamed on the lack of openness or lack thereof to communicate about the issue. It’s as if we exist on opposite ends of the spectrum, underscored by two extremes.

Dialectical behaviour therapist Arielle Kanitz shared her insights on attitudes towards mental health across generations in a piece titled Generational Differences in Approaching Mental Health

“With generations such as the boomers and the silent generation (parents of boomers), there’s a real stigma around mental health,” Kanitz said.

“They come from a period when we just didn’t have these types of conversations.”

Gen Xers, according to Kanitz, are mainly stuck in the mindset of “suck it up and deal with it” when it comes to mental health, which is the opposite position adopted by millennials.

Whether influenced by the invention of the World Wide Web or a rise in suicide rates, there was a notable shift in the attitudes held by millennials regarding mental health and how to approach it. This unique time in history also created a unique environment that exposed newer generations to the dark side of mental health.

Millennials, for example, grew up in the 1990s, characterised by “crisis after crisis.” 9/11 and much talk about the new millennium caused widespread panic, absorbed by Generation Y.

Some researchers believed that exposure to the changing times at a time when millennials were so young may have hurt brain development, making millennials far more anxious than any other generation. The abundance of information further complicates this.

In previous generations, when confronted with an ailment, a trained professional would advise you every step of the way if desired. Now, WebMD and overall access to information have influenced a culture of self-diagnosis and, sadly, hypochondria.

What it boils down to is our unique experience in space and time. And while arguably “nothing is new under the sun,” so much of who we are is influenced by changing times.

Whether we’re in deep or just touching the surface, honest discourse on mental health should be had no matter your age or experience, for our collective knowledge can break boundaries and improve our lives for generations to come.

Truthfully, no generation is tougher or weaker than the other. It’s all about generational context and building awareness surrounding what each generation may have gone through.

Whether we’re part of this generation or the last, we’re all faced with the same common task of existing in the world as it currently is.

So, call us soft or part of a generation of has-beens, we’re all stuck with each other experiencing this thing called life, and that’s more than enough reason for us to cut each other some slack.