ETEC 542 – Online Seminar 1

by zoe armstrong

Mental Health through the cultural lens of different generations

For this assignment, I decided to focus on what mental health means for different generations of folks. My own mental health journey is something I’ve worked at for a long time and I’ve encountered some barriers and stereotypes. I was interested to see what kinds of ideas came from other generations.

I tailored down my research to three main questions:

  1. What does mental health mean to you?
  2. How do people in your generation talk about their emotions?
  3. What kind of supports do people in your generation seek out for their mental health? (And do they discuss these supports with one another?)

I interviewed three generations:

  1. Baby Boomer (My Mom, 70 y/o)
  2. Millennial (Myself, 31 y/o)
  3. Gen Z/Gen Alpha (My niece, 14 y/o)

Here are my findings:

Here are my takeaways:

  • I was very surprised to learn that Gen Z feels this pressure to be perfect as my perspective was that they come across so authentic and themselves. I looked into this a bit more and found an interesting study from the Walton Family Foundation our of Arkansas, which found that, “the negative emotions many Gen Zers feel are closely related to the pressure they feel to be perfect,” (Walton Family Foundation, 2024). 
  • Going into the interview with my Mom, the ideas I had about the Baby Boomer generation’s feelings on mental health were validated. When researching why this generation is still stuck in the negative stigma about mental health, Peachey Counselling (n.d.) discussed that “boomers” were raised by the Silent Generation who thought of mental health problems as weaknesses instead of actual health concerns. It makes me realize how hard people need to work to break generational stereotypes.
  • As a millennial, the age gap between myself and my students is only going to continue to grow, so continuing to gain a better understanding of the cultural ideasabout mental health of younger generations and continuing to approach with curiosity,  is going to help me continue to support my students as best I can in that area. 

 

References:

Peachey Counselling. (n.d.) Generational differences in mental health: The differences and unique issues impacting each generation. Retrieved from: https://www.peacheycounselling.ca/blog/2024/generational-differences-in-mental-health#:~:text=Mental%20Health%20Challenges%20of%20The%20Silent%20Generation%3A,-1.&text=Raised%20by%20the%20Silent%20Generation,or%20addressing%20mental%20health%20struggles.

Walton Family Foundation. (2024, July 30). Gallup survey details Gen Z struggles with stress, anxiety and “need to be perfect.” Retrieved from: https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/about-us/newsroom/gallup-survey-details-gen-z-struggles-with-stress-anxiety-and-need-to-be-perfect