Causes of Depression in the Millennial Generation Essay Example

Causes of Depression in the Millennial Generation Depression has possibly at one time affected or currently affects almost every living individual worldwide. Kids, teens, and young adults in the twentieth century were always identified as more susceptible to feeling depressed, typically due to nothing more than normal changes of physical and mental maturity. However, in her book Generation Me, Jean M. Twenge addresses that “being young has not always carried such a high risk of being anxious, depressed, suicidal, or medicated”. She tells that between only 1% to 2% of Americans born before 1915 felt depressed at least one time in their life; considerably less compared to today’s 15% to 20% of Americans (105). In previous generations, serious depression heavily affected middle-aged adults; however, within the Millennial generation, depression seems to be quite an affliction (Twenge). Common life tragedies aside, this change in the youth of America is most assuredly due to each individual's cultural, social, and environmental influences. I believe the evolution of the idea of “the pursuit of happiness” over the progression of American culture significantly contributes to depression among youths. In today’s culture, many young people experience it as an over whelming pressure to succeed. A leading chiropractic college, Life University found that 68% of Millenials admitted to being bothered by stress from work and/or school (U.S. Millennials). Many of them may be able to adjust accordingly; however, on a dim side some have an overwhelming amount of pressure put on them by misunderstanding parents and authority figures. Many people generally understand that experiencing constant pressure to perform to high expectations can take heavy tolls on a young mind. For the Millenials, the pressure to succeed seems to come from all aspects of their life, including their friends, parents, school teachers/professors, and employers. American culture also commonly includes an