Why Mental Health Challenges Are Increasing Among Gen Z
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Mental health challenges are on the rise, especially among Gen Z, with psychologists warning that young people are increasingly experiencing anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions.
According to psychologists, factors such as drug abuse, limited mental health knowledge and outdated policies contribute to the increase in mental health disorders among young people.
They say rising social and economic pressures, changing lifestyles and limited access to timely support have increased the need for mental health awareness, early intervention and accessible care.
Conversations about mental health have become more common among young people as they talk about it openly and seek help when the need arises.
Mental Illness Among Gen Z
Speaking to hivileo.co.ke, Psychologist Jeff Wekesa says he believes mental illnesses have been on the rise recently with changes in the structure of society.
“Mental illnesses have been on the rise recently with changes in the structure of society. However, it is also worth mentioning that more people are speaking about it and seeking help,” he said.
Speaking on depression and drug abuse among young people, he said that a lot of Gen Z have resorted to using drugs as a coping mechanism when they are facing different challenges.
“Depression and addiction to substances are prevalent among Gen Z,” he added.
Jeff says social media has increased the stigma surrounding mental health issues just as much as it has reduced it because young people use social media differently.
“Social media has increased the stigma on mental health issues as much as it has reduced it,” he said.
According to Jeff, depression and substance use disorders pose the biggest mental health challenges to young people.
However, Jeff cautioned that unemployment and financial stress can push people into drug and substance use, which often leads to anxiety and depression.
“Unemployment and financial stress lead people to drug and substance use, which more often than not leads to anxiety and depression,” he said.
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Signs Of Mental Illness
He added that the easiest way to identify mental illnesses is when someone is isolated, which is more common in different disorders.
“Isolation is the easiest way of identifying mental illnesses, and at its onset, it is common in most disorders ranging from personality disorders to mood disorders,” he said.
Additionally, he also said there are some healthy ways of coping with mental health illnesses, such as exercising.
He explained that this can range from just walking to having a gym membership or joining a hiking group.
Additionally, Jeff said young people should not wait until they think something is wrong for them to finally seek help and go to therapy.
“I would say it’s not really about waiting to seek help; we should cultivate a culture of going to therapy before we face problems. Think of it like training: in training, we stay ready,” he said.
He also said that therapy should be made more affordable so that anyone can be able to access it as part of mental health awareness.
“Make therapy more affordable. Therapy costs above 1000 Ksh, which is higher than the minimum wage for the common citizen to access, and integrate mental health challenges into the curriculum and inform the general public about mental healthcare and where to access the services,” he said.
Prevalent Mental Disorders
The psychologist says that the most prevalent mental disorders in Kenya are depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
“Most prevalent mental illnesses in Kenya are addiction, then co-occurring disorders like Depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia,” he said.
Furthermore, he said that drug and substance abuse could trigger mental illnesses such as drug-induced schizophrenia and depression.
“Substances like alcohol and marijuana trigger other mental illnesses; in that way, you get disorders like drug-induced schizophrenia and depression. Alcohol also worsens the already present symptoms of depression and the depressive episodes in bipolar mood disorder,” he said.
Besides drugs, the expert also said that recovery for individuals from dysfunctional families is usually a bit harder because of the lack of support.
“Dysfunctional families make recovery harder for individuals to recover. This is because of the lack of support; you’ll find it’s the same families that have to pay for a person’s recovery, and they don’t,” he added.
He also debunked a myth about mental health that many people usually believe: that they do not need therapy and they can figure it out on their own.
“A myth that many young people believe is that they are strong enough to handle it on their own, that they don’t need help; they’ll just figure it out,” he said.
Moreover, he said that mental health awareness should be taught in schools to enable students to be able to deal with people who are suffering from mental health illnesses.
“Teaching mental health awareness in schools enables students to learn about how to handle people at home who are facing mental illnesses; it reduces the stigma around mental illnesses, and finally equips people to know how to handle mental illnesses they might be facing themselves,” he added.
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A green bow usually used to illustrate mental health awareness. PHOTO/SB Counselling
