Millennials are the most stressed-out generation, new survey finds -NBC News
“In an online survey of more than 2000 U.S. adults, it’s the millennials (ages 19 to 33) who say they are the most stressed, with 33 percent saying their stress has increased over the past year.” – NBC’s Dr. Nancy Snyderman reports.
“I’m stressed, you’re stressed, your partner is stressed, even our pets are stressed. But according to a new survey from the American Psychological Association, the most stressed generation of adults in the nation is also the youngest.” -Melissa Dahl, NBC News
Why are our nation’s youngest adults so stressed?
To find out more go to http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/07/16889472-millennials-are-the-most-stressed-out-generation-new-survey-finds?lite=
It is always great to hear from you! I would love to know your opinion about the report. Are you surprised? Why do you think our nation’s youngest adults are more stressed than any other generation?
I think it has to do with the poor job market, combined with our parents’ generation being less able to financially help out than they might have been 10 years ago. That, and crazy student loans.
Lyssapants, This makes sense. The comments that have come in on this post are very enlightening. Thank you for sharing yours with us. Warmly, Kristin
As a parent/in-law of two millenials and a mom who knows dozens of their friends, I can certaily relate to the findings. These are the young adults who graduated (many with sizable loans) to a completely collapsing economy and job market in the mid-late 2000s. The sudden down-turn also took many parents by surprise – suddenly they had much less wealth and consequently were not able to help as much. If millenials were lucky to secure a job after graduation it likely didn’t correspond to their level of education or wasn’t full-time. And when lay offs came, they were the first to go. This generation has had it very tough to secure the work experience corresponding to their age and educational level. This has brought with it extreme stress levels. I have witnessed these developments first hand looking at my son and all his friends from high school and college. They are all closing in on 30 soon and only very few have truly settled into life like we (their parents) had done by that age. Many of them have been back to their parents’ households several times, very few have a family as yet or a steady good job that could be expected based on their excellent education. The younger ones, who are just starting their college years, have observed these developments and are not as optimistic as the older millenials were at that age (and got disappointed). It’s sad – they all feel the pressure to “make it in life” and become independent. Just my twopence.
Thank you so much for sharing your twopence. I am older than a millenial and my children are younger. It is very interesting to read comments from people who either are millenials themselves or have children who are millenials. It sounds like it is a lot tougher than when I got out of college in the early 90s. Thank you for sharing this with us.
That catches me by surprise, and I have a daughtter who is considered a millennial. I’ll have to think about it.
I originally thought that it might be the sandwich generation that is the most stressed, but what I am reading really makes sense. Love to hear you and your daughter’s perspective.:)
My daughter and I discussed this. She and her friends have managed to find their varied ways forward in life without extraordinary stress (not necessarily stress-free though) in spite of the hardships of the times.
She and I come from a place of looking within for the source of stress/discomfort/pain/barrier. That puts us in a place of feeling some sense of “control” in our lives. Perhaps that mindset has had her drawing different people into her life. I don’t really know the cause and effects of all of their experiences, but we’re definitely feeling grateful after hearing this report. In this case, it’s nice to be an exception.
Thank you for coming back! I am sure it is nice to be the exception. Looking within is always a good idea! If it is working for you, keep doing it! Have a terrific day.
I agree with Lyssapants. Here’s a glimpse into my life: I was recently laid off and though I try to stay positive it’s a scary thing. This isn’t the first time since 2008 I’ve been laid off (not fired) and I can barely make my car payments, I get nothing back from taxes, had a $1000 doctors bill for a checkup on my PCOS and this is with student insurance because I can’t afford a better plan, I’m not eligible for any government programs, living back at home because I can’t afford an apartment if I want to keep my car to get a job, also a full-time student so I have student loans as well (the government did help me with grants for this and I’m thankful). Also my professors keep stating that we need to up our game because more and more companies are hiring people from other countries who can speak multiple languages in a job market that is already declining. So I am also trying to learn another language and become fluent, not just taking the class for a credit. I can’t go out with friends, because I can’t afford it and I don’t have time since I need to study to get out of school so I can stop paying climbing tuition each year, which doesn’t include textbooks that also get more expensive every year. I’m also taking an online course in tour management separately in case my other major falls through, which is communication studies to be a PR specialist. So yeah, I think our generation is a bit more stressed, considering I’m 24 and already discovering gray hairs. I don’t even want to think about those who had children at 21 and have that on their plate as well as school and work. Interesting article and I’m interested to read other opinions.
It does sound extremely stressful! You are too young for gray hairs. I hope that you are able to find healthy ways to relieve your stress. I have to admit that when I was twenty-two, I graduated from college and walked right into my first teaching job. That was over twenty years ago. It sounds much more difficult today! I am thinking about you! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us.
I’m not suprised. I wonder sometimes if might be too much time on the hands? Obviously, this is an overgeneralization but my 19 year old son who works parttime at the moment is full of vigor and energy on his workdays and then on his days off he lapses into introspection and stress. Just a thought.
Interesting thought. Some people are stressed because they have too much time on their hands, I am sure. And some are stressed over other things in life, but hide their stress well when they are busy. Thanks for your thoughts. Makes sense.
I think sometimes they’re too connected and overloaded social media wise also, its like being wired 24/7 which isn’t a healthy balance.
So true! 24/7 without balance will leave anyone stressed. I think I will get off of the computer in a little bit and go for a run. I am always more relaxed after a good workout. Thank you for your comments. Warmly, Kristin
Surprising….Unemployement is worst and it actually builds presure when you are not earning and have a family to support. It is actually demoralising for newly grads students. They have incredible ideas, talent, passion and the most important thing energy but ubfortunately they do not have the platform to showcase their skills. Its very mournful. I have also read somewhere, cancer ratio is bit higher in USA. Is it? As mentioned in article ‘to manage their stress by eating junk, drinking alcohol and smoking.’ Leads to cancer.
Without the research in front of me, I do not know the ratio. I do know that research tells us that chronic high stress can lead to disease. Cancer, high blood pressure, heart attack, the list goes on and on….. It tears down our immune system and impacts every part of our body.
Rightly said Kristin… Hope for better situations to come..
Yes it is a very stressful go for this generation. My daughter just got her MSW and got a fabulous bilingual therapist job in the Bay Area and her fiancee a wonderful faculty spot at UC….but boy did they stress about finding employment. Many of their friends can’t find work. My son is in bio grad school and he’s stressing about jobs as well and he’s still in school!
A really tough time for this cohort and I empathize with them and for them greatly. Post retirement age workers might want to consider retiring to give this generation a chance. They might take up travel??? 🙂
You posts are always enlightening.
Thank you, Cindy. I also empathize with them. It sounds a lot more difficult now than when I graduated from college. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this topic. Have a great weekend. 🙂
P.S. Another MSW. And bilingual at that. That’s great!
Somehow this post seems to communicate with my 3 – part posts about more and more people cutting their body (parentingandstuff – the scary world of 12’s). I am very much worried…
I will check out your posts. I work with teens who injury themselves and cut their body. It really is very sad. I try to teach them healthier ways to manage their pain and stress. Thank you for your comments.
I think it’s because they haven’t been taught how to deal with discomfort. I also think parents have been so afraid to make the “wrong” moves that their young adult children lack motivation, direction and the competitive spirit necessary to overcome obstacles. Many turn to “the quick fix” which is often drugs/alcohol.
Many people do turn to “the quick fix.” But we know that this just makes their problems worse. It is better to suffer through the pain than to compound it with a temporary fix. Thank you for your comments.
As amazing as Singapore is, I think none of the generation here is saved from stress – we’re ALL practically equally stressed out… Especially the ones in the low/middle income groups. The fast paced environment, pressure to perform, high cost of living, etc…
I hear you! Thank you for adding your thoughts to this discussion. I think it is an important one.
I loved reading everyone’s posts. What a fantastic conversation forum. I totally agree with many of the sentiments. The 24 hour a day electronic devices are a definite handicap. Think about how much time is sucked away by Facebook alone. I have many adult friends who talk about the empty feelings they have when they are away from Facebook. It almost sounds like a virtual umbilical cord that provides addictive social sustenance. Withdrawal ensues when away which brings a host of ill favored conditions. Add texting, email, twitter and any other google searches that may interest you, and there is scarcely enough time to eat much less work effectively
My kids are younger than this age group but I see in my kids peer group, a failure to launch on a more abbreviated scale. When I was 15, I worked in the Mall. Through college, I held various internships and part time jobs including book keeping, note taking, and college administration. By the time I graduated, I had a nice beginning to resume skills. I recently spoke to some graduating college students who landed their jobs prior to graduation and they said it was their retail sales work experience or summer jobs that won them their first career entry level job.
Look around and observe how few teens are working. My kids generation are hyper focused on athletics and being in the most competitve level of their activity. Practices are as often as 5 times a week. There is no remaining time to work. I also live in a fairly affluent area, where parents fund their kids’ very ambitious social life. Kids are not pushed or required to gain any exposure to working in their young life so they are in very unchartered terrain when they graduate college and begin a job search.
Also, ask any teen how much money they predict they will make at their first job, and that figure is astonishingly high. The concept of starting at the bottom or working for pennies alludes our youth. They have very unreal expectations at the onset of their work life which only breeds discontent and disillusionment.
Thanks so much for igniting a fantastic blog forum
SB, Thank you for giving us so much food for thought. I really do think it is an insightful and important discussion!
Many thougtful comments hereCommenting
Another thoughtful post, Kristin. It’s why you’ll always have me here.
Many thoughtful comments from your followers. This 21st century American way of life cannot be sustained. Look at the trends, kids being stressed notwithstanding.
We at DirtNKids have been slowly backing away from this new society, built only in. the last 50 years, and the next step is in the education of our children. The system we currently enjoy — one of GDP, growing the almighty $, debt, consumption, climbing the corporate ladder– is obviously not improving on itself Why are we teaching our youngsters to find happiness in a spiraling catastrophe waiting to happen, with no clear exit strategy should it fail?
The millenials are the first to not know life without computing, connectivity, or basically comforts and gadgets. Kids have forgotten (or never been taught) what’s important: Wants vs. Needs. We have taught them to put needs second to wants, and now we have stressed out, debt-laden, skill-lacking, “connected” (what does that mean?)’ UNHAPPY people. We are to blame. Not their educators, our politicians, their CEO’s, but US, the parents.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not gonna just sit around and let this happen to my kids, OUR kids, our future. It’s time to undo what we’ve created, starting with who stares at me while I brush my teeth.
Back to basics we go. Happiness comes from within. Our needs can be easily met, but our wants must be checked.
You bring up some terrific points here, my dear Shannon. Thank you so much for adding your thoughts to this discussion. I think we can all learn something here. Have a great day!
I’m not sure why it came iut like it did! I’ll blame it on the iPad. Keep those thought-provoking posts, coming. I’m glad these issues are on your radar. They need to be on everyone’s.
I thought you brought up very important points. Thank you for the support and encouragement as I try to inspire and encourage. Have a great day, Shannon! Your kids are lucky to have you!
There was a nice piece on Diane Rehm earlier this week. Made me think of your post! If you have an hour this weekend, it’s a good listen.
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-02-18/what-it-means-be-millennial
Thank you, Shannon. I will check it out.
I think it’s a symptom of the times.
Yes.
I think I’m stressed because I’m afraid I’m not using time wisely, because there are preconceived notions about what people my age are supposed to have accomplished by now that I’ve yet to accomplish. But I’m a late-bloomer, I’ve come to realize that and I’m slowly starting to take the pressure off my shoulders. Thanks for sharing this was insightful.
You are welcome. Look at progress, not perfection. Just keep moving. One baby step at a time. Try not to compare yourself with others. You just keep progressing. Thank you for sharing this!
This is most helpful, thank you for offering me a new perspective!
You are very welcome.