The things that impact our mental health have drastically changed over the past few years. Of course, people still struggle to deal with stress from day-to-day life, work and family problems, but there are new things in the mix.
Social media, the cost of living crisis and the impact of COVID-19 are just some of the new things we have to deal with, and this can particularly impact younger generations.
Growing up in the age of social media has its pros and cons. On one hand, it allows us to stay in touch with our friends and to keep ourselves updated on the news. On the other hand, it can cause an obsession with having the ‘perfect life’. We may want to fool other people into believing we always look perfect and we have busy lifestyles with large social groups, however this is far from reality.
There is no such thing as the ‘perfect life’, everyone’s life has ups and downs, and social media makes this hard to understand. Growing up around this expectation makes it incredibly difficult to deal with hard times in life, and can have a huge impact on self-esteem, causing a person to feel completely isolated.
It is important to maintain contact with the world outside of social media! The recent trend of using the phrase “go touch some grass” (meaning you are out of touch with reality and need to go outside!) is partly true. You may feel overwhelmed with the world of social media, constantly on your phone and refreshing pages. In cases like this, it can be beneficial to leave your phone inside and go for a walk. This can remind you to explore the world that exists outside of your phone!
Growing up during the COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on the lives of all young people. For years, there was a worry that things may never return to normal. Many young people sacrificed their social lives and education to protect those most at risk, which caused feelings of isolation.
Social media was beneficial during this time, as young people were able to partially continue with their education via online learning. They were also able to stay in contact with friends whilst practising social distancing. However, it was still a relief when this was over.
As we came out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we went straight into a cost of living crisis (out of the frying pan, into the fire!).
The cost of living crisis is another issue that particularly impacts the younger generations, causing an uncertainty for what the future may hold. Prices of everyday essentials are rising and the climb onto the housing ladder is becoming steeper. This causes a huge instability in the lives of younger people. You may even find yourself questioning if you will ever be able to live independently!
The good news is everyone is in the same boat. All young people today will be feeling some uncertainty for the future, and although the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and cost of living crisis are unique, the feeling of uncertainty for the future isn’t. Every generation before you has had this feeling, and it is completely normal.
However, if this feeling starts to impact your day-to-day life, it is important to reach out to somebody.
We spoke to professionals from the Open Door Charity, which offers wellbeing services to young people and adults across the Merseyside area. They run a service called Bazaar, which aims to support young people suffering from low mood and anxiety.
We asked what particular issues their service has found are most troubling to young people today, and here is what they had to say:
Dean Renshaw, Data & Insights Manager at Open Door Charity, said:
“The most common reason given for Bazaar referrals tends to be low mood and anxiety.
“However, I would say that there are two themes emerging over the last few months. One is loneliness; a number of people referred to Bazaar highlight that they feel lonely, or that they don’t have anyone to talk to, so the peer mentor model of Bazaar is something that they would find helpful.
“The second theme I can see is about being overwhelmed. For some people, this is because of school or university as we come out of exam season. For others it’s just a general sense of being overwhelmed by the world; everything feels like there’s too many things coming towards them at once.”
This shows that young people do have unique problems affecting their mental health. Whilst these are different to problems older generations have faced, it is important not to compare the severity of issues.
Mental health is becoming less stigmatised, and more and more young people are coming out to tell their stories about what has impacted their mental health. It is important their stories are heard and addressed, instead of labelling them as ‘entitled’ or ‘weak’ because their issues are different to those faced by older generations.
Young adult or not, adults of all ages are able to call us on 0151 7080 415 if they feel isolated or overwhelmed, as we have a variety of courses that could help.
(Special thanks to Dean from Open Door Charity for their contribution to this article!)