Ending the stigma around rising mental health crisis

An illustration of a stressed and worked-out employee. [Getty Images]

We are probably familiar with terms, such as childhood trauma, narcissism, healing, shadow work, and more. It is also common to hear people say that the current younger generation is 'weak' compared to the older generation. How plausible is this statement? I believe the older generation also struggled with mental health issues - they just were not openly discussed. Granted, some people developed healthy coping mechanisms, while others resorted to negative ones. In both small and large ways, they managed their symptoms - knowingly or unknowingly. Another reason for the increased visibility of mental health today is the internet. As my dad often says, we are living in the Information Age, where information spreads faster and more widely than ever before, leading to greater awareness of mental health issues.

While many of us may seem fine on the outside, if you take time to have a meaningful conversation, you'll realise that everyone is battling something. It is so easy to judge others without recognising that we are all climbing the same mountain, just from different sides. According to a 2024 study on mental health conducted by the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in California, anxiety is the most common mental health disorder, followed by depression. The study also found that 33.5 per cent of adults with a mental illness also have a substance use disorder, and 17 per cent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years have experienced a major depressive disorder.