“I Feel Like a Failure” - Addressing this Common Millennial Fear and Anxiety

Read on to understand the factors that have led millennials into a spiral of fear and anxiety surrounding the notion of why they feel like a failure.

Millennials aged between 24 and 39 years are finding it harder to get ahead in the world of employment as compared to the previous generations. The receding job market, limited prospects, coupled with natural disasters and social injustices, have taken a toll on the mental health of this entire generation. Mental health issues such as stress and anxiety are becoming a growing concern among millennials, and the constant fear of being a failure has only made matters worse.

Before we learn how to deal with mental health issues, it’s important to identify where these anxieties come from and why we do have it worse compared to our parents and grandparents.

The Job Market Sucks

The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge negative impact on business operations around the globe and resulted in the job losses of nearly 114 million people in 2020. This is just the tip of the iceberg, as the effects of the global economic recession of 2008 still weigh heavy for this generation of employees. The recession inflated student-debt loans and resulted in an exponential increase in the cost of living.

The current job market has transformed into a major burnout factor among millennials as they have to work longer hours on stagnant wages, leaving them no room for downtime. The jobs have harmed their mental health, and many even quit due to deteriorating mental issues. The nature of the work has also changed; increasing competition, limited job prospects, and skill redundancy leaves millennials either jobless or working on wages that don’t cover benefits and appraisals. The entire generation is among the most educated; however, the path to “success” has become a lot more unclear.

Social Media Wars

This generation started social media networking and were the pioneers of creating an online persona. With the access to digital technology and the intrinsic need to share our lived experiences with other people, social media has become a source of anxiety for millennials who can’t help but compare their lives with who they follow online. 

It’s a no-brainer that someone is going to be better off than you are, but when everyone is flaunting their lifestyles and material things on social media, it can turn into a toxic environment for you. For example, you see your friend just bought a new car on Instagram while you take public transport to work. That friend who bought the car saw that his colleague on Twitter put a down payment for their new condo while they still live rent-free with their parents. The constant rat race and unhealthy mindset of being better off than the next person have driven an entire generation into feeling like they’re a failure. 

What most people don’t realize is that everyone struggles with personal doubts and self-esteem issues, and the only thing that goes on social media is their best face forward. Nobody likes to highlight their weaknesses and insecurities, but instead, we’ve grown to overcompensate for our shortcomings by curating the “perfect” life on social media. 

It’s very easy to get sucked into thinking you’re not successful enough, or pretty enough, or aren’t as well-off as other people your age based on what you see on social media. Our outlook on life and our mindset determine the way we feel about ourselves and how others view us. If we’re quick to focus on all the things we don’t have, instead of being grateful for the things we have accomplished and achieved - we will always feel like we’re constantly failing. Instead of putting our energy into negative emotions, we should consciously focus on things that bring positivity, joy, and peace of mind. 

A Dying World

Not only is social media responsible for inducing self-esteem issues, but it is also a source of news and a platform to document events happening in real-time. This generation is not just self-aware in terms of their mental health, but they are also well-informed of the social injustices, natural hazards, and political wars that are rampant in the 21st century. 

The world has been suffering against racial discrimination since the colonial era when white people enslaved millions of indigenous people existing in all parts of the world. The Europeans and Americans stole resources, used the native people as their slaves and labor, robbed the land of its history, and reclaimed properties as their own. The injustices that occurred centuries ago still linger as generational trauma has passed down to millennials and systemic discrimination still prevails.

The #BLM Movement took social media by storm and resulted in people coming out to the streets to protest against police brutality and discrimination against Black people. This is only one form of racial discrimination that is experienced the world over. We have apartheid states inflicting genocide on innocent families and children based on their ethnicities, religious inclinations, and geographical territory. News media outlets and social media are filled with natural disasters, such as wildfires, hurricanes, and increasing global warming. 

All these factors play a major role in the mental well-being of individuals that are just started their adult lives in this world. Millennials are fully aware of their social responsibility, and they are the front-runners of social and political change, but on an individual level, the deep-rooted fear of failure and “not doing enough” persists. We must frequently remind ourselves to put ourselves and our mental health first when the weight of the world becomes too overwhelming to bear. 

The previous generations didn’t have access to this much information and technology during their time, so the things that didn’t happen in their communities had no impact on their thoughts and actions. On the other hand, Millennials know too much, and we’ve seen too much to know that to make an active change, we must engage and collectively work towards reform. However, we can’t deny the toll it takes on one’s levels of anxiety and stress.