Post-COVID mental health conditions among Gen Z rise to 42 pct: US Survey

New research on mental health has found that 42 percent of Gen Z young adults currently have a diagnosed mental health condition –anxiety and depression being the most common diagnosis.

One in four individuals surveyed was diagnosed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey suggested.

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According to the analysis by US-based data management firm Harmony Healthcare IT, tens of millions of Gen Z young adults had started dealing with a mental health condition in the early months of the pandemic in 2020, with many admitting that the global health crisis had negatively impacted them.

Statisticians and sociologists identify Gen Z as the third-largest demographic in the US, behind millennials and baby boomers. According to Gallup and Ipsos, Gen Z starts at 1997, meaning this generation’s age group currently ranges between 10 and 25 in 2022.

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The survey found that 57 percent said they were currently on medication for their conditions, accounting for an average spending of $44 per month on medication only.

A staggering percentage of young adults have now been diagnosed with anxiety (90 percent), depression (78 percent), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (27 percent), or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (27 percent).

Around 31 percent of Gen Z-ers would rate their overall mental health in 2022 as bad, the survey found. When asked to describe their mental health over the period of one month, one out of four reported having more bad days than good. On average, Gen Z reported about ten tough mental health days in the span of one month.

More than two in five have a diagnosed mental health condition. Around 26 percent of those were diagnosed during the pandemic.

This latest poll portrays Gen Z as overwhelmingly cynical about the post-COVID world and what role they may one day play in it.

Eighty-three percent said they believe their generation is grappling with more mental health issues than other generations, but that perhaps because of that, they feel more equipped to openly discuss mental health.

Eighty-five percent of the survey’s respondents said they were worried about the future in general, with the vast majority citing their personal finances, the environment, the economy, and the US’ increasingly polarized political landscape.

Almost 90 percent of Gen Z respondents believe their generation is not set up for success and 75 percent said they feel they are at a disadvantage in comparison to previous generations like baby boomers or Gen X, who are at least 42 years-old in 2022.

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