{"id":414593,"date":"2025-11-30T07:25:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T07:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/414593\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T07:25:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T07:25:29","slug":"as-a-gen-z-professional-ive-realised-anxiety-isnt-just-a-phase-it-has-become-the-background-noise-of-my-life-lifestyle-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/414593\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018As a Gen Z professional, I\u2019ve realised anxiety isn\u2019t just a phase; it has become the background noise of my life\u2019 | Lifestyle News"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wake up every morning to an alert on my phone: \u2018Air Quality Index: Very Poor\u2019. As a professional living in Delhi, this isn\u2019t unusual. It\u2019s November, and the pollution has settled in like an unwelcome guest that refuses to leave. I check my notifications: work emails, breaking news, messages I\u2019ve been avoiding.<\/p>\n

By the time I\u2019m ready for work, I\u2019ve already consumed a day\u2019s worth of information, and the restlessness has begun<\/a><\/strong>. This is what anxiety looks like for me, a Gen Z writer trying to make sense of a world that feels as if it is constantly shifting beneath my feet. It shows up in my work, where every deadline feels urgent and every opportunity fleeting. It seeps into my relationships, where vulnerability feels risky and commitment uncertain. And it manifests in my body, where every cough triggers a spiral of health worries I can\u2019t quite silence. \u201cHow will I manage all of this alone?\u201d my mind screams.<\/p>\n

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But I\u2019m not alone in this feeling. Recently, actor Maya Hawke, 27, articulated something many of us have been thinking but struggling to name. In a conversation on Amy Poehler\u2019s podcast Good Hang, Hawke spoke about anxiety and the unexpected power in voicing one of the most resonant animated characters in modern film. Hawke, who voices the character Anxiety in Disney-Pixar\u2019s Inside Out 2, told Poehler \u2014 the voice of Joy \u2014 that \u201canxiety might be the defining emotion of our time\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hawke, the Gen Z daughter of actors Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, explained how portraying Anxiety shifted her relationship with her own thoughts. \u201cI think with, like, the joy-anxiety relationship, it taught me a lot about showing love to that part of myself,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that is all actually a way to calm it down: inviting it into the conversation.\u201d The biggest lesson, she added, was \u201cto give my anxiety a comfy chair\u201d.<\/p>\n

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The conversation comes as mental health challenges affect a significant portion of young people in India. A 2024 study published in Cureus examining mental health issues among schoolchildren and adolescents found that anxiety is one of the most commonly reported challenges. The review of 31 studies highlighted the high prevalence of depression, emotional and behavioural issues, anxiety, psychological distress, internet addiction and related concerns.<\/p>\n

More recently, MediBuddy\u2019s analysis of psychological consultation data (October to December 2024) revealed that anxiety-related issues remain the most common condition, forming 32.28 per cent of consultations among young professionals aged 20\u201340.<\/p>\n

The lived reality of Gen Z anxiety<\/p>\n

When I reached out to young people about whether anxiety defines their generation, the responses were varied but revealing. Akshat Kharbanda, 25, pushed back against comparisons. \u201cI don\u2019t know if we\u2019re necessarily more anxious than those before. They had their struggles. We\u2019re just louder and living through an acceleration that makes everything feel like it\u2019s dissolving before it solidifies,\u201d he said. \u201cAnxiety, for me, looks like waking up and trying to make sense of a world that shape-shifts every morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tisha Ahuja, 22, described it differently. She told indianexpress.com, \u201cI do think our generation carries a different kind of anxiety, which is not always louder but more constant. It\u2019s like background noise you learn to live with. For me, it\u2019s the pressure to do everything right \u2014 career, relationships, even self-care. It\u2019s not just worry; it\u2019s the exhaustion of always trying to be \u2018enough\u2019 in a world that keeps moving faster.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For Tanusha Arora, 21, anxiety took centre stage after personal loss. \u201cLosing my dad at 18, and soon after being diagnosed with alopecia areata, made anxiety central to my life. Managing grief, illness and ambition, all at once, isn\u2019t easy, especially when you want to move at the same pace as everyone else,\u201d she shared. \u201cAnxiety builds up as burnout and a desire to escape \u2014 to go to the mountains alone, disconnect and breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The role of social media<\/p>\n

Social media\u2019s influence on Gen Z\u2019s anxiety is complex. Akshat was blunt: \u201cSocial media is a major culprit<\/a><\/strong>. Our brains aren\u2019t built for 500 dopamine hits before breakfast. We\u2019re force-fed every crisis, and even when we tune out, there\u2019s a conveyor belt of influencers selling perfect lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tisha captured its contradictions. \u201cSocial media is both the problem and the pause button. On bad days, it magnifies insecurity \u2014 someone else\u2019s success, someone else\u2019s peace. But it\u2019s also where I find people who get it. It amplifies anxiety, yes, but it also gives it community and language.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Much Much of Gen Z\u2019s anxiety stems from collective uncertainty rather than individual dysfunction. (Source: Freepik)
\nWhat mental health experts are seeing<\/p>\n

Clinicians confirm that Gen Z\u2019s anxiety is both real and distinct. Aparna Rani, clinical psychologist at Cadabams Hospitals, said, \u201cThere is a real rise in anxiety symptoms among Gen Z, but also a greater willingness to name and discuss emotions.\u201d Earlier generations, she noted, often masked distress under terms like stress or tension.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey\u2019ve grown up with mental health in public discourse, so what was once invisible now has language. Anxiety is more visible, but that visibility is also progress,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Karishma Desai Shah, counselling psychologist and psychotherapist at Nimitt Counselling and Psychotherapy Services, said, \u201cYes, I\u2019m definitely seeing a rise among Gen Z clients. Awareness has made people more articulate, but their experiences of anxiety and restlessness in daily life are increasing.\u201d<\/p>\n

On social media, Rani noted that it can be \u201cboth a trigger and a therapeutic outlet\u201d, depending on usage patterns. Digital literacy, she said, is essential to understanding what nourishes and what drains.<\/p>\n

On societal anxiety<\/p>\n

Much of Gen Z\u2019s anxiety stems from collective uncertainty rather than individual dysfunction. Rani explained, \u201cThey are growing up amid economic volatility, environmental crises and rapid technological change. This instability breeds anticipatory anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Shah sees similar patterns, with many young people experiencing anxiety linked to political, financial and climate crises, and intense pressure to succeed.<\/p>\n

Akshat articulated this well: \u201cI don\u2019t enjoy earning when half of it bleeds into rent. I don\u2019t enjoy working when AI is supposedly coming for my job. I don\u2019t enjoy dating when vulnerability gets labelled toxic<\/a><\/strong>. The cognitive dissonance is where the anxiety lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tisha said the future feels like quicksand \u2014 \u201cyou can plan all you want, but the ground keeps shifting\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tanusha, however, saw possibility: \u201cUncertainty breeds possibility. It gives us space to explore and build life on our own terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Finding ways to cope<\/p>\n

Coping strategies that resonate with Gen Z often redirect anxious energy instead of eliminating it. Rani said, \u201cInterventions that emphasise agency, creativity and community work best. They respond well to app-based journalling, guided meditations and peer circles, but also crave authenticity. Emotional regulation through mindfulness, cognitive restructuring and body-based practices helps ground them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shah emphasised digital awareness. She recommended limited news intake, awareness of curated online aesthetics, and mindful engagement with online groups \u2014 all while maintaining boundaries.<\/p>\n

\"Coping Coping strategies that resonate with Gen Z often redirect anxious energy instead of eliminating it. (Source: Freepik)
\nReframing anxiety<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most hopeful thread is the reframing of anxiety \u2014 not as weakness but as information. Akshat said, \u201cEvery feeling holds power. When things are steady and I\u2019m anxious, I treat it as a signal. When life is falling apart and I\u2019m anxious, it\u2019s noise I need to quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rani encourages clients to view anxiety as \u201ca messenger, not an enemy\u201d, signalling values, fears or goals worth examining.<\/p>\n

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Shah added that anxiety has become a \u201cbuzzword\u201d, with many labelling all discomfort as anxiety. Insight, she said, comes from examining discomfort and changing patterns so anxiety empowers rather than overwhelms.<\/p>\n

Giving anxiety a comfy chair<\/p>\n

Maya Hawke\u2019s metaphor of giving anxiety a comfy chair feels apt. It suggests neither ignoring anxiety nor letting it dominate, but acknowledging it with compassion.<\/p>\n

As I finish writing this, I glance at my phone again. The air quality hasn\u2019t improved, the news remains overwhelming and tomorrow will bring its own anxieties. But there is comfort in knowing others feel this too \u2014 and that together, we are learning to transform anxiety from something that paralyses us<\/a><\/strong> into something that connects us and teaches us how to be human in an uncertain world.<\/p>\n