Why Gen Z is one of the most anxious & depressed generations, explains Psychiatrist Seeth Vivek, MD.

Ajouté : 2026-05-30

[00:00:00][music] >> Hello everyone. I'm Dr. Renee Mara.

[00:00:06]Thank you for joining my podcast.

[00:00:09]Today I'll be talking to my guest on a very critical issue, mental health.

[00:00:14]Over 1 billion people worldwide have mental health disorders. And this is according to the World Health Organization report.

[00:00:25]In the United States, one out of five could be depression, anxiety, bipolar.

[00:00:33]And how do we address the issue with Gen Z, Generation Z, young adults born from mid-1990s to 2010? So we're talking of 15, 16-year-olds to about only 30-year-olds who have more anxiety, more depression than the previous generations.

[00:00:54]What is the cause? What are the contributing factors for Gen Z to have so much of anxiety? Talking to me is Dr. Vivek. He's a very well-known psychiatrist from New York that I've known for a long time.

[00:01:09]Dr. Vivek is the Associate Dean, Ross University School of Medicine. He's the Chairman Emeritus, Psychiatry, Jamaica Flushing Hospital in New York, as well as the past president of New York State Psychiatric Association. Thank you so much, Dr. Vivek, for joining me. It's always a pleasure to talk to you.

[00:01:27]So let's dive deep within. What is this?

[00:01:31]Why Gen Z? I mean, as I said, it depression, anxiety is all over. It's not just but with this young adult group they seem to have more anxiety. Is it because of job uncertainty or less face-to-face interaction or social media induced anxiety?

[00:01:52]>> Thank you. Thank you, Renee. This is a very important topic.

[00:01:56]And we are talking about our future generations. These are the future leaders.

[00:02:04]And they seem to have an inordinately high incidence of anxiety and depression.

[00:02:12]So whereas it's almost double the numbers compared to the previous generation, the millennials.

[00:02:22]Uh similarly when it comes to depression and suicidality is much higher in this group. So now in response to your question, I would say there are two aspects. One is the individual. There are some individuals who are vulnerable.

[00:02:43]They may be they may have the genetics for anxiety and depression. Maybe it has existed in their families.

[00:02:50]But then the larger group is not about individual vulnerability, but what this cohort is going through.

[00:02:58]Now every generation has had its own challenges. So a person could have been born when their society was mired in war or famine or an epidemic.

[00:03:15]So each generation So if you were if you were growing up in Vietnam during the war or if you were in Lebanon during or if you were in Gaza those events shape how you respond to stress, how you respond to trauma.

[00:03:35]Similarly even in the context of US where there hasn't been famine or war on our soil what is true is that there are other factors that are influencing. And primarily I would say that the most important thing is social media.

[00:03:56]This This cohort who are now between the ages of 15, 16 till about 29, 30, they have been exposed to social media in a way the the intensity is not imaginable for people in your generation or mine.

[00:04:18]It has created such a sense of self-doubt, of comparing oneself to ideals that are unattainable.

[00:04:29]The other thing is the other major factor is that even though this cohort is connected to hundreds of people via social media or thousands sometimes, face-to-face time is minimal with other human beings.

[00:04:48]So, they are very isolated.

[00:04:53]Now, in most generations, parents have felt not understood by their kids and kids have felt not understood by their parents. That has happened every generation, but it appears that this generation is even worse in terms of the intensity, the where And finally, the last thing is until now, at least in America, every generation has done better than their parents when it comes to economics, when it comes to job opportunities.

[00:05:29]This is the first time in a long, long time where this generation, after finishing college, comes back and stays at home.

[00:05:38]Because they don't get a job, they get an internship.

[00:05:41]Often times a volunteer position. Or they get some minimum wage type job, sometimes with a big title, but not enough in terms to support themselves. So, that job insecurity has added to all the other factors. So, this is my rough assessment of what's happening with Gen Z.

[00:06:05]And whatever I'm saying doesn't apply to every individual, but in broad strokes, this applies to this generation.

[00:06:14]>> Because of the job uncertainty, many of them don't even want to pursue higher studies. They say, "What's the point?

[00:06:21]>> Yeah.

[00:06:22]>> And why am I going to go for it? What am I getting out of it?" And it's to a large extent it's true.

[00:06:27]My generation was overachievers. We got to do this. I've got to be a doctorate.

[00:06:31]I've got to finish my masters. I've got to finish my double masters. I've got So, that was the generation uh that was striving high. This generation is, "I'm going to be chilled out. I'm just going to be laid-back. I don't seem to have any proper job, so this is it." A lot of times people are saying the only jobs that are going to be left will be carpentry and plumbing.

[00:06:52]So, what are we going to do about that?

[00:06:54]>> True. I mean, I'm glad I didn't mention it, but you're right. In In addition to the AI is going to take away even more jobs.

[00:07:05]So, even like unless one is in the kind of profession where you have to be there, a nurse for example, AI is not likely to replace a nurse, a plumber.

[00:07:17]But, um many of the mainstream jobs um are not going to be there, or at least the perception is they're not going to be there. And it adds to the the anxiety, the angst that young people feel today.

[00:07:35]And uh it's it's a sad situation, and I would hope that community policy makers, politicians, they put their heads together because this this is not going to stop.

[00:07:53]The effects of this we're going to feel 10 years from now, 20 years from now.

[00:07:58]This generation at some point will be 50 years old.

[00:08:02]And they may be in a crisis, in an existential crisis.

[00:08:08]And so I think we should not um bury our heads in the sand. This is an important matter. And I'm so glad that you are bringing attention to this.

[00:08:21]>> And I believe that the the pros and cons, I mean, the good part is that they are very cautious. They don't drink that much alcohol.

[00:08:29]Uh not that much of drugs.

[00:08:31]Uh they they seem to be more spiritually inclined. But yet there's this depression and anxiety that's >> Yeah.

[00:08:39]>> a lot of issues.

[00:08:41]>> You're you're you're very right. The incidence of substance abuse is much lower in this cohort say compared to the hippie generation.

[00:08:52]>> Yeah.

[00:08:54]>> The No, you're right. The There are healthier aspects to this. Very few of them smoke cigarettes.

[00:09:02]Some some are involved in vaping, but even that uh the numbers are lower than with other cohorts.

[00:09:10]So, there are good aspects to this, but they are also sensitive.

[00:09:15]And unfortunately um they have not been able to develop some of the skills necessary to deal with the real world where there will be disappointments in the job market, there'll be disappointment in personal romantic relationships, in the ability to connect with somebody, to marry, to have a family.

[00:09:42]All of these are major challenges that face this generation.

[00:09:48]>> How do you address this issue?

[00:09:50]>> I think for example, what you're doing is important. I think major publications should raise this, but in the end, there need to be some decisions made at the policy level.

[00:10:06]How do we address this?

[00:10:08]There should be a way See, one of the problems you mentioned mental health at the beginning of this episode.

[00:10:15]Access to mental health has become a major issue.

[00:10:20]You know, there are people it is unbelievable. There are people who are suicidal and the next appointment available to them is 6 months from now.

[00:10:30]>> That's not going to work.

[00:10:31]>> You know, there are people who don't know whether they want to live till tomorrow.

[00:10:38]And instead of somebody saying, "Come right over, I'll talk to you."

[00:10:42]What's happening is, "Yes, we have an appointment in September."

[00:10:49]And so, I think those are And for one of the wealthiest nations the world has known, this is an unacceptable >> Access to health care, mental health is so very important. So, I think we need more mental health counselors.

[00:11:05]Um >> Absolutely.

[00:11:05]>> More discussions on this, how to alleviate this issue.

[00:11:10]And then this more screen time has created issues as well. So, there is less interaction face-to-face, but more screen time, more texting. I mean, we text a lot. I text a lot myself, but I definitely believe in communication one-to-one.

[00:11:28]And that is not happening. Absolutely. I mean, if you're multitasking everything, you're you can text, but not all the time.

[00:11:35]And I think they need a lot of that kind of advice.

[00:11:39]And job uncertainty makes it maybe even worse.

[00:11:43]The pandemic, I mean, all of us suffered during the pandemic, but I think this generation suffered the most.

[00:11:49]>> I agree.

[00:11:50]>> A lot of isolation to cope with that challenge has continued.

[00:11:56]>> I absolutely agree with you. I think the pandemic worsened the isolation of a of a cohort that was already isolated to begin with. It just made it even worse.

[00:12:08]Yeah.

[00:12:11]>> So, it goes back to the policy makers, mental health counselors, and I think even schools.

[00:12:19]>> Yeah.

[00:12:20]>> Teachers should, you know, pick up on who's getting more anxiety and then try to address that issue right away at the very outset so that you don't land up with >> Yeah.

[00:12:32]>> mental health issues down the road.

[00:12:34]>> I I agree with you. I mean, it's it should be all of the above. Not I don't think it should be just the government.

[00:12:41]It could It should also involve religious organizations. It should involve educational organizations, schools, colleges, universities.

[00:12:50]It should involve self-help groups. I think we need to tie these together.

[00:12:57]>> Yes.

[00:12:57]>> And so that there is some synergy between the various things that society has to offer.

[00:13:04]So that if a young person is feeling lost, if they're feeling like their life has no meaning, if they're feeling depressed, they should know what the next steps are, who to call, who to reach out to.

[00:13:19]And similarly, there should be a response that is immediate and meaningful.

[00:13:31]See? So, I think that is a system that we have to create. And unfortunately, it is not there.

[00:13:38]>> I mean, my take would be all of the above that you talked about as well as help them to meditate, bring that stress down, and find that inner core, recalibrate through meditation. 15 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes in the evening.

[00:13:56]And that quiet time can bring a lot of calmness and equilibrium.

[00:14:03]So, that's how I feel that meditation and quiet time with young adults can help them go a long way to cope with these challenges.

[00:14:13]>> I I I think you're absolutely right.

[00:14:16]Not everybody is attracted to meditation, but those that are certainly benefit from it. I mean, there are many many studies that show that 20 minutes of meditation twice a day is as good and sometimes more effective than psychotherapy.

[00:14:36]>> Absolutely.

[00:14:37]>> Yeah.

[00:14:40]>> So, you can start with 20 minutes a day and see how it works. And it's clinically proven. It's a non-pharmacological approach. So, no antidepressants, nothing. You are just taking that inner journey and trying to find your inner core within.

[00:14:57]That's what I would suggest, and you've already talked about it.

[00:15:00]And I think we should do more shows like that, maybe with young adults, and find out what is it that's contributing to that stress.

[00:15:08]And try to see how we can address those issues.

[00:15:12]>> Thank you.

[00:15:13]>> Thank you very much, Dr. Seebaby. And I'm Dr. Naimer. Stay healthy and always stay positive.

[00:15:21]>> [music] >> Woo!