Millennials and Isolation at Home: ‘Nobody Knocks Me on the Back’ | Right away

The number of millennials with mental health problems is relatively high, Research shows. How is it that they experience more stress and dissatisfaction than other generations?

“If I sat down all day, no one would notice.” Today, this is often the first thought Willemijn de Koning (30) has when she wakes up. She lives alone and now has little work.

“I think the quarantine is pretty hard,” she admits. Setbacks seem to be getting harder and harder. “Normally I divert my frustration by boxing or going to the pub with a friend. You can’t do that now.’

The king is not the only one in her age group who struggles mentally. This is reflected in the recent research Care platform OpenUp. Indeed, the results show that young people and young adults of all generations today have the most mental health problems. For example, 70 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 currently report stress and dissatisfaction.

Less time to worry with children

Research also shows that many millennials do not have a stable financial basis. This can lead to negative feelings such as dissatisfaction. Another reason may be that millennials often don’t have children yet.

“Our research has shown that feelings of dissatisfaction and lethargy are more common in people without children today,” says GZ psychologist and researcher at OpenUp Gijs Coppens. And that’s a good thing to explain, according to the psychologist.

“People with families have more structure,” he says. “Ultimately, young children need rhythm. They also keep you busy all the time. That gives you less time to worry.”

According to him, this is because parents are more used to dealing with stress than people without children. Coppens: “Parents with young children are now benefiting from this.”

The king also notices this. “I have a lot of girlfriends with young children,” she says. “They seem to suffer less than I do.”

Then just create a course and podcast

The fact that De Koning now has little work does not help either. She works as a communications specialist and has only a few small jobs left. To make herself useful, she participates in all sorts of courses and works on a podcast.

But that doesn’t give her the same satisfaction as work. “You often get feedback from your boss or colleagues,” she says. “Now there’s no one to pat me on the back when I finish a course.”

That’s really a generation of performance, Coppens says. “Millennials set the bar high for themselves and take a lot of their self-esteem out of their work.”

But now there is a good chance that your job has been lost or that your tasks are suddenly unclear. Coppens recommends not letting your happiness depend on it. “Come with activities that are valuable to you,” he says. “Maybe there’s a project you’ve always wanted to set up, but you’ve never had time to do it. Now is the time to do this.”