Stress and anxiety seem to be plaguing Generation Y. A recent survey by the American Psychological Association and Harris Interactive found millennials to be the most stressed generation in the United States. Furthermore, they’re being diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders more than any other generation.
What is it that looms over millennial shoulders like a dark cloud of despair? There are a number of theories making the rounds, from an overabundance of choice to helicopter parenting, but both anecdotally and scientifically, I have found there is one issue we can’t seem to escape.
Money Woes
Millennials are broke, and their lack of capital is a clear source of stress. According to a report from Bank of America, more than 40 percent of millennials admit to chronically worrying about money. Of those who responded, 22 percent worry about having enough money to last the week, while 30 percent worry about having enough money to finish out the month.
What’s truly unfortunate is that it’s due to factors that out of their control — skyrocketing student loan debt, an unstable job market, and a volatile global economy.
From childhood, millennials were told that they’d never go anywhere without a college education. Sadly, that education comes with a steep price. In the past three decades, the price of a college education has increased much faster than inflation. In the last 40 years, tuition at public universities has risen 250 percent, and young adults just can’t keep up. That’s where student loans come in. The total amount of student loan debt in the U.S. stands at about $1.23 trillion divided over more than 43 million students. That means the average graduate for the class of 2016 will be graduating with more than $37,000 in student loan debt.
Unfortunately, the troubles don’t stop there. U.S. census data show that 40 percent of the unemployed are millennials — that’s 4.6 million young adults without work. What’s more, the number of employed millennials making less than $25,000 a year has jumped to the highest levels in more than 25 years.
Despite all this data, millennials have been dubbed “the cheapest generation” — blamed for the stagnation in the automobile and housing markets. Our tendency toward frugality is a matter of economics, not preference. The cold hard truth is that we want to buy houses and shiny new cars. We want to get married, have kids, and live the American Dream. We simply can’t afford to.
Unfortunately, there’s another side to our stress that’s not as easy to talk about.
Mental Health Issues
The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 30 percent of 18 to 29 years olds suffer from an anxiety disorder. Besides being a consequence of chronic high stress, anxiety disorders can also arise from biological factors, such as genetics, physical illness, injury, or brain chemistry. Many people with mental illness have a family history of mental health problems.
While one might shrug off anxiety as a minor inconvenience, the consequences of such disorders are surprisingly far-reaching. Anxiety gets in the way of work, academic success, and personal relationships. The mental anguish of anxiety can cause sufferers to develop unhealthy coping mechanisms. People with anxiety disorders are are more prone to develop eating disorders, engage in self-harm, abuse both illegal and prescription drugs, or fall into obsessive behavior patterns.
Solving these problems are, of course, far easier said than done. Medication, psychotherapy, meditation — these can all be used to manage anxiety on a personal level. However, the issues with our economy, job market, pay structure, and tuition costs will take some extreme measures and a lot of compromise, both from the business world and Washington D.C.
Liz Greene is a makeup enthusiast, rabid feminist, and an anxiety-ridden millennial from the beautiful city of trees, Boise, Idaho. You can follow her latest misadventures on her blog, Instant Lo.