24 Jun How Different Generations Create Their Own Unique Type of Stress
In working with various clients from age 4 to 97, I have observed many different perspectives on what causes stress and what is interpreted as stressful, anxiety-producing, or depressing. I think it is important to understand the social pressures of the times, the political and environmental shifts, and the industrial and technological growth that created expectations for some, false hopes for others, exciting opportunities for some and soul-crushing failures for others. All of these experiences are filtered by our genetic programming and socialization of the generation we are born into and within which we grow into adulthood.
A generation is described by Wikipedia as “all the people born and living at about the same time regarded collectively” and the average period covered is generally about thirty years. The social implications being that of an identified group of people who have experienced the same significant events within a given time period. Different names have been given to generations, but in general, these are the ones most frequently in use:
• The Lost Generation – born between 1883 and 1900 and was used to describe those who fought in World War I.
• The G.I. Generation – born between 1901 and 1924, came of age during the Great Depression and fought in World War II.
• The Silent Generation – born between 1925 and 1942, some of whom fought in WWII, most fought in the Korean War and many during the Vietnam War.
• The Baby Boomers – born from mid 1940s to early 1960s, most of whom were born following WWII and represented a large part of the demographics for years following.
• Generation X – born from early 1960s to early 1980s.
• Generation Y or Millennials – born from early 1980s to early 2000s, and according to Pew Research, will surpass the Baby Boomers in population during 2019.
• Generation Z – born from mid 1990s to mid 2000s.
My grandparents were teenagers during the 1st World War and were raising a family during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Their often stoic reaction to stress was apparently honed on being able to survive under some of the worst experiences anyone can imagine.
My parents were children during the Great Depression and my father fought in WWII. Both he and my mother were raised during a time of deprivation where nothing was ever thrown away because it might be salvaged for some use. This mentality of ‘lack’ fueled their stressful perceptions about the scarcity of money and how difficult life can sometimes be. But it also enhanced their appreciation for self-created recreation in the times we spent together as family.
My generation, the baby-boomers, were sometimes called the ‘Me Generation’ because we were focused on political change, some social upheaval, making the world a better place, albeit from our sometimes limited perspective. I went to Vietnam convinced we, as a country, were doing the right thing in trying to stop the spread of communism. Only much later did we learn that it was all political smoke and mirrors and tens of thousands of Americans and Vietnamese died in the process. As a generation, we were stressed by the state of the world, the unceasing pursuit of peace, and the ingrained need to make the world a better place. For some it was rebelling by “dropping out, tuning in and turning on.” For others it was trying to change the system from within.
Millennials seem to get the most attention from the sociologists and the media, mostly because they will be the dominate population for years to come. They have created, or accepted depending upon how you look at it, their own unique form of stress. A recent article by New York Times business journalist, Erin Griffith, summarized this trend very succinctly as “millennial workaholism” becoming an “aspirational lifestyle.” For them, self-worth is linked inexorably to being able to work 80-100 hour weeks and living with a ‘#ThankGodItsMonday’ mentality. They were raised to believe that getting good grades and extracurricular over achievement would lead professional recognition and the quality of life they were seeking. Instead, many are struggling under unconscionable student loan debt and the same type of spirit-crushing jobs every other generation had to contend with in their careers. It seems stress has no boundaries when our thinking is based on a lie.
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