Why Are Young Adults So Much More Anxious and Depressed Than Teenagers?

Much has been made about the mental health crisis among today’s teenagers — a very real and growing issue — but it’s actually young adults who are suffering the most. Conducted in 2022, a Harvard Graduate School of Education survey of 1,843 teens, young adults, and parents found that Americans aged 18 to 25 are roughly twice as likely as their teenage counterparts to report struggling with anxiety or depression: Thirty-six percent of young adults reported anxiety; 29 percent reported depression; and 58 percent reported they lacked “meaning or purpose” in their lives.

“Young adults’ mental health hasn’t been on our public radar in the way that teens’ mental health has been since the pandemic,” report coauthor Milena Batanova, PhD, states in a press release.

While some of this can be chalked up to the stressors young adults have always faced, there’s reason to believe young adults from Gen Z faces unique vulnerabilities.

This is a generation that lost formative developmental years to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many were stuck at home or in some form of lockdown during high school or college — when they most needed the opportunity to establish independence.

This is also a generation that’s never known a time when the country wasn’t politically polarized; when college, home ownership, or raising a child was more reasonably affordable for the average American; or when social media wasn’t amplifying the discord surrounding these matters.

In response to various issues, Gen Z has raised its voice: Almost a third of Gen Zers are regularly involved in activism or social-justice work compared with roughly a quarter of millennials, according to a 2023 United Way of the National Capital Area survey. And while it’s admirable to see so many young people advocating for social change, engagement takes a toll: 45 percent of the young adults surveyed by the Harvard Graduate School of Education attributed some aspect of their mental health issues to a “sense that things are falling apart” in the world.

Young adulthood can be a tough time, both exhilarating and intimidating. Gone are the restrictions and limitations of youth. Gone, too, are the long-held routines and daily relationships that can support mental well-being and prevent bad decisions.

For many individuals, their 20s mark the first time they’ll live with roommates rather than with parents; the first time working a “real” job rather than a summer gig or part-time position; the first time paying rent, balancing a budget, buying groceries, or owning a car.

All this can leave even the most well-adjusted young adults uniquely vulnerable to a range of mental health issues. These are some of the most common risks, plus tips for effectively navigating this life stage.

Relationships in Flux

Most people enter young adulthood having been surrounded by familiar faces their entire lives. Then high school ends and the graduates scatter. Parents, siblings, neighbors, and friends may no longer be routinely present in their lives, replaced by a barrage of new relationships: professional colleagues, roommates, romantic interests, maybe even children of their own.

Adjusting to these new dynamics can be challenging, especially since most young adults are still figuring out who they are and what they need, as well as how to communicate those things. A study published by the Journal of Adult Development found that stress stemming from interpersonal relationships — particularly with friends and romantic partners — accounts for between 46 and 82 percent of the everyday stressors that emerging adults encounter.

Yet plenty of young adults struggle with the opposite problem: loneliness. Although it’s an issue that affects people of all ages, chronic loneliness is more common in young adulthood than it is in middle adulthood. A lack of close, supportive relationships can trigger or exacerbate depression and increase stress.

Risky Behavior, Fewer Guardrails

We tend to associate high-risk behavior with the teenage years, when a not-yet-adult brain craves adult freedom. Yet young adults can be similarly vulnerable: The prefrontal cortex, responsible for impulse control and complex problem-solving, typically isn’t fully developed until roughly age 25.

Parents, teachers, and federal laws help curtail high-risk behavior during adolescence, but many of those checks and balances fall away in early adulthood. Now there’s less preventing a young adult from buying beer or skipping school; there’s no parent making sure they make it home by midnight or shaking them awake when they sleep past their alarm.

Meanwhile, some of the potentially moderating structures and responsibilities of adulthood — a full-time job, a live-in partner, the burden of paying for quality health insurance — typically remain on the horizon.

The intersection between sudden freedom and a still underdeveloped prefrontal cortex can be dangerous: Those in their 20s are at a much greater risk of developing substance-use disorders and of dying by injuries caused by accidents or violence than are their older counterparts. And though the majority pass through their 20s without incurring any permanent scars, the stress that comes from making adult decisions without adult wisdom is mentally and emotionally taxing in and of itself.

Onset of Major Mental Illness

The onset of serious mental illnesses such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia typically occurs in the late teens or early 20s for men, although the average age of onset for women with schizophrenia is in the 20s to early 30s. It’s difficult timing: This is when young people may become more distant from the parents, teachers, and other supports most likely to notice warning signs.

It’s also when people begin to confront the kinds of major stressors — job loss, breakups of serious relationships, and so on — that can precipitate a first episode of major depression or psychosis among those predisposed to these conditions. Moreover, those who are young and whose lives haven’t yet established a predictable rhythm (it’s pretty normal, say, for a young person’s sleep and eating schedules to be all over the map) are going to be less attuned to changes in the baseline. So, someone still finding their footing in life tends to be less attuned to disruptions in their psychological and physiological patterns — sleep, appetite, mood — that can signal oncoming decompensation.

Mental illness doesn’t have to derail one’s life, but early diagnosis and treatment can make all the difference. Without self-knowledge and support, young adults are at risk of falling through the cracks. (For signs that your mental health may need attention, see “7 Signs That Your Mental Health Needs Attention.”)

How to Survive Your 20s

Successfully navigating this life stage boils down to balancing risk with responsibility, independence with connection, and engagement with enjoyment. Tap into these strategies to survive these years and prepare for thriving in the years ahead.

1) Build healthy habits now. Sure, your body is more resilient than it’ll ever be, and you’ve probably got another half-dozen decades to get things together. But your 20s are a golden window to begin building healthy habits. Consider this a great time to start exercising, meditating, questioning your relationship with alcohol, or establishing any other habits you’ll appreciate down the road.

2) Balance social advocacy with self-care. Young people have long been at the forefront of social movements, and while it’s essential to stand up for what you believe in, doing so shouldn’t come at the cost of your own well-being. Find a balance between staying informed and staying mentally healthy, whether by limiting social media, setting boundaries when you’re burned-out, or making time for things that fuel an optimistic view of the world. (For more on self-care for activists, see “Self-Care for Activists.”)

3) Maintain connections. Relationships can come and go throughout this stage of life, so make sure to maintain a few anchors of support amid those waves of change. Who provides that support — a parent, sibling, childhood friend — matters less than whether you can count on them to be there when you need help and to know you well enough to point out concerning changes in mood or behavior. (For more on the importance of friends and connections, see “Why Friends Are Essential to Our Well-Being.”)

4) Be an explorer. For all its challenges, young adulthood can and should be a time for exploration and self-discovery. Because young adults are typically unburdened by kids, a mortgage, or serious career obligations, the time is ripe to try new things, take (healthy) risks, and begin identifying what matters to you.

If there’s a silver lining to the collective struggle, it’s that Gen Z seems much more comfortable discussing it. Studies have shown that members of this cohort are not only more likely than their older counterparts to openly acknowledge mental health issues but also more likely to seek professional treatment. And that means this generation of young adults may be the one that makes young adulthood a little less treacherous for the next.

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