The Wellness Generation
“There is truth in your pain, there is growth in your pain, but only if it’s first brought out into the open.” — Steven Aitchison
By Cahaya Ratomo and Rizqika A.
Recently established in 2020, World Teen Mental Wellness Day is celebrated on March 2nd to stimulate meaningful conversations that advocate for normalized mental wellness discussions. To accomplish this goal, we must first understand the stigma that threatens its success, which will lead to its alleviation within modern society and the young generations.
Racial, Religious, and Gender Taboos
As an intercultural school, JIS hosts a wide array of students who stem from Asian heritages, which studies have found tends to treat mental health as taboo. When we asked the Asian student body about this matter, our respondents agreed, specifically those who retain Indonesian origins.
“Living in an Asian country, [mental health] is sort of taboo because of the religious or cultural norm,” surmised Miyake S., while another respondent added, “As an Indonesian, it seems that this topic in general is considered taboo, especially among adults.”
The stigma surrounding mental health in many Asian countries originates from the traditional perspective that imperfect mental wellness may bring shame or dishonor to their family name.
According to a study conducted by the University of Maryland, this intense pressure prevents most ethnic Asians from seeking assistance for common, treatable mental health concerns due to the fear of mortification.
“Mental health problems are still considered a weakness,” one student claimed. “[And] Asian culture is very centralized around not showing weaknesses.”
Respondents further expressed that the stigma surrounding mental health can also stem from religious beliefs that consider it to be uninviting or infectious, which prevents relevant and necessary conversations regarding such from occurring.
“Although I believe in mental health, it is not considered a ‘real’ thing in my culture,” one respondent admitted. Another agreed, adding, “My parents don’t believe in mental health and call it taboo… because they are religious.”
Traditional gender norms are also considerable influences on the treatment of mental health within different genders. Males, for one, may steer away from such topics due to the fear of tarnishing their masculinity or the tough, rugged facade that they believe should be upheld.
“Growing up with [sayings] like ‘boys don’t cry’ and [the] idea that men need to be tough and ‘just deal with it’ [definitely] affected my mental health,” admitted one respondent, while another lamented, “I know firsthand the toxic masculinity that runs rampant in teenage boys in this generation, preventing them from experiencing and responding to their emotions in a healthy manner.”
Brenda C.
The Generational Wellness Gap
The way Generation Z—which refers to those born in the years 1997 to 2012—treats mental health substantially differentiates from how previous generations have dealt with the matter. Experiences that are individual to them alone, including accessibility to mental health services and professionals, inclusive therapy aid, have provided attention towards mental concerns that otherwise would not have received much recognition.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, this understanding and acceptance of mental health discussions have increased the usage of medical treatment within teenagers and young adults. In 2021, 37% of Generation Z members reported having received therapy compared to 15% of previous generations.
“It is vastly easier to discuss mental health with my friends than with my parents or anyone their age,” one respondent lamented. “[My parents] consider mental health struggles a passing phenomenon, and their vaguely disinterested attitudes do nothing but add to my emotional turmoil.”
Another student added, “I can’t really act sad around my grandparents—anything other than a huge smile is generally frowned down upon as negativity,” another student said. “Whether the emotions you [display] are what you actually feel does not matter at all.”
However, this normalization in treatment and awareness comes with a liable cause. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic began, 91% of eighteen to twenty-one year-olds have claimed to experience at least one emotional or physical symptom of stress every month.
“[Generation Z] has so much more going on than in [previous generations],” one student wrote, while another continued, “This generation [has] to deal with [factors]… which no other generation has had to face at such a young age.”
Intense academic pressure is one of the highest contributing factors to Generation Z’s stress levels. For some, the pressure to acquire an undergraduate university degree can be exceptionally tolling on their mental health.
“The school environment is really stressful for me, and I am getting burned out with so many [IB tasks],” one student commented, while another specified that, “The rising competition to get into universities, jobs and just the uncertainty of our future… [adds] pressure and stress.”
Social media is also a leading cause behind Generation Z’s stress rates. Recent findings discovered that the daily social media intake of teenagers can influence their mental health, while simultaneously suggesting that regular use of thirty minutes or less can lead to better health outcomes.
“With social media, everyone is constantly comparing themselves to pretty unrealistic pictures and standards,” a respondent claimed, followed by another who concurred that, “Because of [it]… our self-esteem [could worsen], which affects our mental health. [This is in comparison] to other generations who didn’t fully grow up with this [persistent attention].”
Brenda C.
The Importance of an Inclusive Community
However, social media is not always regarded as a negative factor to mental health. According to most respondents, it was ironically the primary platform to which they were most exposed to meaningful conversations surrounding psychiatric wellness and therapy.
“Our generation today has more exposure to social media and many other sources of information about mental health, [which] makes us, in a way, more knowledgeable,” another student continued. “With that knowledge, our generation should choose to progress and improve by learning from past mistakes.”
The JIS student body has found the initiative to become the bearers for such a change.
“At JIS, we have multiple clubs dedicated to eliminating the stigma around mental health, [which] opens the discussion about mental health [and] makes it a more approachable subject,” one student wrote.
JIS further encourages students to visit counselors or on-campus therapists if they experience high levels of stress, which several respondents say to be beneficial and even comforting.
A Look to the Future
Although mental health discussions have become normalized for some of the younger generations, it is a topic that is yet to become unstigmatized in modern society. After all, everyone has experienced their fair share of mental stress, so belittling or denying real experiences under the excuse that it is ‘taboo’ is ineffective, harmful, and frankly, offensive.
Reasons like these justify World Teen Mental Wellness Day and reminds us that it is normal to discuss the pressures that we endure every day—further, that we are not the only ones experiencing them.
Still, it is essential to remember that simply one day will not make an impactful difference in our society—this change from traditional taboo to inclusive attitudes will take time and effort, in communities all over the globe.
Generation Z can become the leaders for such a change. Perhaps, we will even be the ones to provide the comfortable environment that has always been desired for children: one that allows them to communicate their emotions without the fear of judgment, and within the trust of their community.
Endnote:
This article discourages the self-diagnosis of any mental health condition, which is unhelpful and potentially even dangerous. Instead, positively advocate for your own mental health by contacting a medical professional for careful consultation and assessment.
Volume 32, Issue 3 - February 14, 2021 - In-Depth - Pages 6 to 8