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Are they snowflakes? Why mental health is a big deal to millennial and Gen Z workers 

by Leila Salaverria

Recently updated on February 12, 2023 01:12 am

WHEN he was working as customer service agent, Kyle knew it was time to quit his job when he found that he was trying to hold back tears after dragging himself to the locker room at the office. 

At that time, he felt that he could not take it anymore.

“Gusto ko mag tantrum sa locker room,” the 23-year-old recalled. 

It was the last straw for him, after months of working in a highly stressful and frustrating environment. He had to deal with angry customers and a very critical boss. 

During the months that he worked there, he experienced anxiety and found himself disconnecting from others. The job had taken its toll on his mental health, and after reaching his tipping point, he decided to leave.

He is now working for a new company, and leaving his old job is a decision he does not regret.

He is one of the many workers who had decided to resign for the sake of their mental health. 

Bosses’ complaints

Some employers complain about workers who cite their mental health when they go on leave or hand in their resignation letters. Some even suspect that the workers are just being lazy.

But are they?

Not necessarily, according to psychologist Rainier Ladic.

The effect of technology 

The younger generations are just more aware about their mental health and related issues because of their access to a lot of information about it, said Ladic. 

Unlike the older generation, millennials and Gen Zs grew up with the internet and more advanced technology that made information easily available to them with just one click. These have also helped spread advocacies about mental health awareness, he said.

The fast access to information instilled self-awareness, most especially in the younger generation who are well-versed in using technology, he said. 

“With this awareness, young people could become sensitive about their mental health concerns because they have more information as compared to before. If we look at the older generations, they do not have much understanding about mental health,” he told republicasia

He also said this self-awareness could result in self-reflection wherein people would look at their condition.

It helps that there is more openness now about consulting mental health professionals, he said.  

Making excuses?

Ladic said he is not discounting the possibility that some people would use the mental health card to just make excuses or to bring about a desirable outcome for them. 

The challenging part is that it is difficult to prove a claim of having a mental health concern, he said.

A mental health condition is not as apparent as a physical illness, which can be easily proven by laboratory tests, he noted. A mental health condition could only be diagnosed through a psychological evaluation. 

But some people who are not out to make excuses may be wondering how they would know if they are just feeling lazy at work or if there is something more going on with their mental health that would need to be addressed.  

According to Ladic, feeling lazy or restless has a difference with symptoms of a mental health condition.

“Laziness or restlessness are transient feelings. They come and go. You may be lazy at one activity and then you are motivated at another,” he said.

Knowing the 5 Ds

On the other hand, symptoms of mental health conditions follow a pattern that is long lasting. 

To be able to tell the difference between a transient feeling and something more serious, he said psychologists and mental health professionals use several criteria or 5 Ds to check if a person has a mental health condition.

Distress

Ladic said distress means feeling either more than or less than the equilibrium that a person usually feels. These could be feelings of anxiety, manic episodes, depression, or aggression. 

Deviation

These are behaviors of an individual that do not conform to the norms. One example is hearing voices that other people cannot hear in reality.  

“When behaviors deviate from the norm, we can tell there’s a developing psychopathology or abnormality in the psychological function,” he said.

Dysfunction

This happens when there are disruptions to daily living, such as when an individual is no longer able to go to work or school or is frequently absent. This is also characterized by withdrawal from other people or lack of self care. People with a mental health condition may also find it hard to get out of bed and take a shower.

Ladic said some people with mental health conditions are high-functioning and are still able to report to school or to the office. The way to determine if they have a problem is to check is if they fit the other criteria. For instance, they may view going to work as something that they are just forced to do, and they feel a lot of distress in doing this. 

Danger

Another D to watch out or is danger, either to oneself or to other people. People with depressive disorder may turn to self-harm or could hurt other people. 

Duration

Ladic said people with mental health conditions experience chronic or persistent feelings of laziness or restlessness. These could last for three months to a year, he said. The feelings also affect almost every aspect of their lives, he said. 

What employers could do

Ladic said employers should not be dismissive of their workers who cite mental health concerns.

They could consider referring their workers to a psychologist or having a resident psychologist in the office. 

He noted that there were a lot of companies who looked for the services of psychologists during the pandemic. This was because they wanted to integrate mental health services in the benefits they provide. This also allowed them to evaluate objectively if the employee has a mental health condition.

He likewise said parents who see something different and concerning in the behavior of their children should talk to them to help them process their emotions. 

If they think they can’t handle the situation, then they could consult a psychologist. This way, proper interventions could be done, he said.

“I think it’s time to normalize consulting mental health professionals,” he said. 

End the Stigma 

Despite the ready availability of mental health information on the Internet, Ladic said there is still some stigma attached to seeing a mental health professional. 

He himself, before becoming a psychologist, had his own misconceptions. He though those with mental health conditions are “weak” or don’t have enough faith.

“There’s really the need to take a step and to use this awareness to overcome the stigma that the person is feeling. Unless that person takes action, takes the courage to consult a mental health professional, that’s the only time that they will understand more what they are experiencing,” he said. 

Advocacy 

Ladic is taking steps to normalize discussions about mental health through the Facebook page that he founded, The Juan Psychologist.

He created it in June 2020 when he was thinking of ways to use his profession to help people and saw that many people needed support to cope with the pandemic. 

The contents of the page seek to target the needs of the younger generation. The page creates memes and hops on trends to share psychological concepts in order to make these ideas easily understood. 

“We really use this as advocacy for us to spread mental health awareness in a manner wherein it’s going to be engaging, it’s going to be fun, but it’s going to be informative. We’re making sure the information we relay is going to be reliable,” he said. 

The public had a positive response to the page, and the number of inquiries about his professional services was overwhelming, he said.

Ladic said another of his advocacies is to make mental health services affordable. 

“Real talk, psychological interventions are expensive. In my case, I try to look for avenues wherein I can make it cheaper for people, especially students,” he said. 

He gives discounts to students so that they could get afford a session with a psychologist.

He has noticed that because of the financial costs of seeing a professional, many young people keep their concerns and problems to themselves.

But for him, they need not suffer. There are various ways to help them and people who are willing to do so.

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