Millennials seem to suffer from depression more than any other generation. While it’s hard to quantify this statement because of the inexactitudes involved in the diagnosis and reporting of depression, it’s certainly true that the millennial generation has worked hard to break the stigma of the condition.
Still, many millennials still feel powerless to seek treatment for symptoms of depression. And with heightened economic and social anxieties looming over their day-to-day lives, demand for effective therapy and medication is strong.
Employment Worries
Many millennials face concern about their short-term and long-term career prospects. A lack of gainful employment and/or financial security often fans the flames of depression. Here are some ways that visiting a therapist can help you feel better about your career prospects and take steps to improve them:
Talk with a therapist about what you feel is holding you back from achieving your career dreams. If it’s a mental block, you and your therapist can unpack those issues.
If your career issues are more circumstantial, you and your therapist can brainstorm effective tactics for improving the circumstances that limit your progress.
Maybe you have a good job, but the pressure or boredom gets you down. Your therapist can help you with strategies to improve your performance or rev up your motivation
Social Shock
Anyone between the ages of 23 and 38 in 2019 falls into the millennial generation. Lots of people in this age range have recently graduated from college, trade school, or other educational or vocational program and are starting to notice big changes in their social lives.
Once you leave the college environment and move out your own, spending time with friends is no longer baked into your day-to-day life. Work starts to eat up your social schedule, friends enter into long-term relationships (maybe with kids in the equation), and time seems to tick by just a little bit faster. Consider some of the ways a therapist can help you tackle these difficult changes:
A therapist can help you cope with the fact that you don’t see as much of your friends and help you devise ways to replace that lost social time with fun solo activities.
A therapist can offer a slightly different version of the life advice and emotional support you’re accustomed to getting from your friends
If you’re interested in meeting new people at work but don’t know how to approach starting friendships with equally busy and stressed-out people, your therapist can equip you with some good strategies to make it happen
Distance from Family
Millennials often struggle with losing the system of love and support their families have given them since birth. Sure, many still keep in close contact with parents and siblings, but the daily, face-to-face interaction from their younger years tends to fade into something less frequent and less personal. Homesickness arises often in young adults who live alone, or when young people begin building families of their own.
A therapist can’t fill the role of your mom or dad, but he or she help you process your homesickness and depressive feelings in many ways:
You can share your favorite family memories with your therapist and discuss the ways your family’s presence enriched your life
Discussing strategies to stay in touch with your family and receive their emotional support when possible is a great way to manage your depression
As discussed above, your therapist can help you cope with life outside your family unit and find family-like support in other places.
Any Reason At All
There is no right or wrong reason for a millennial to feel depressed and sometimes there’s no reason at all. Shame over your depressive symptoms should not stop you from seeking treatment. Working with a therapist who’s a good match can help you unlock your potential and live the life you’ve been wanting to live!
For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit our Depression Counseling page or call 919-647-4600.
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