Whether it's a broken down car, unpaid taxes, a roach-infested apartment, or horrible health insurance, "adulting" is hard. Experts are saying that it's getting even harder, especially for one age group. The stress of it all is leading millennials to cope in ways that are unhealthy and unsustainable. Lisa Palmer, psychotherapist and founder of the Renew Center of Florida and RenewMe, joins Cheddar News to discuss. 

Cheddar's News Wrap

Why Has 'Adulting' Gotten So Hard?

Reuters news wrap adult ng can be many things at first, it can seem exciting having your own place making your own money, not being told what to do. That also means having to deal with all of the many life can inconveniences on your own, whether it's a broken down car, unpaid taxes, a roach infested apartment, especially if you live in new york or horrible health insurance and the stress of it all is leading millennials to cope in ways that are unhealthy and unsustainable, joining me now discusses lisa, palmer psychotherapist and founder of the renew center of florida and renew me lisa. Welcome to the show. You say that adult NG is harder than ever right now. Why is that the case? And how did we get here? We'll definitely millennial than everybody is biting off more than they can chew. But definitely with the millennials and they're suffering from a ton of burnout that honestly is really affecting their health and giving them a lot of adrenal, fatigue, difficulty focusing, concentrating motivational problems, health problems and a lot of them are turning to addictions as a way to cope. How are americans coping with high levels of stress and depression these days? What are risks of some of the coping mechanisms that we're seeing people turn to, they're not coping very well. Uh you know, a lot of americans are turning to addictions, they are turning to very negative, they're getting very angry to be honest with you. Um they're getting very depressed, very angry. Um alcohol is readily available. Vaping create um um Benzos that they're getting from their doctors. So they're getting very addicted to trying to heal themselves and like self medicate themselves and it's becoming very bad for their health and their wellness and they're just a mess to be honest with you. So what are some ways that people can better cope with the economic challenges and of course, adult ng, I like to say get back to basics. I think a lot of people try to do too much um in a short period of time and for example, trying to get better sleep is a very good place to start because when we rest, we digest and we're processing, you know, our, our memories, our day sleep is so, so important for your, your balance or overall balance. So sleeping getting maybe less tech time as much as we're addicted to our phones and we love to be on our phones. Um that can also interrupt our sleep patterns. So you might want to do a little less of that or maybe at least an hour before you sleep kind of put down the phone or at least if you're going to be on your phone, do something that's positive, like a meditation or something. I know a lot of millennials love to like watch horror movies before bed and I wouldn't necessarily recommend that try to be on a better, you know, mental health diet and try to listen to meditations or people who are, you know, gurus that speak positively about living in balance. And so also if you are having health issues, trying not to take your health into your own hands and self medicate with vaping and kaaba and create um and whatever you can get your hands on, really try to figure out what's going on because you might have a neurotransmitter imbalance, you might need a better gut health, gut health is really, you know, connected to your brain health. So you want to get better nutrition, better rest, better exercise and don't be extreme about everything. That's another thing a lot of millennials tend to do, they want to get everything right now and they're very extreme. So you want to be moderate, you know, just take one step every day, a little a day kind of goes a long way. Do you think social media and technology in general is playing a part here? Well, there's definitely, you know, a lot of pressure on social media, social media has really raised the bar. How many people watch social media and say, well, I wish I was there doing this or that and a lot of it's really unrealistic and we have to get back to basics and and really just focus on building our skills one skill at a time and realizing what's realistic for you, hey, if you're in your twenties or maybe even early thirties, am I really going to be a millionaire? I mean there are people that are millionaires in their thirties or twenties, but that's not really realistic, you should really be focusing on building your skills, trying to be healthy and you know well from within yourself and just doing your best to study and build those skills and don't be afraid to work. I think in this economy people want to play and they want to, you know, live up to those expectations on social media, but especially in this economy, we kind of have to work a little harder and play a little less. How should people take that first step when it comes to their mental health journey? Do you think therapy is necessary for everyone? What is the first step and what can we tell millennials who may be struggling to voice their mental health issues, whether it's to friends or employers, honestly, therapy and coaching, you don't necessarily have to have a therapist, you can have a life coach, but any kind of coaching that's helping you to build your skillful thinking, skillful living skills is gonna be great for you, you know, to work on your positive belief systems because we're all gonna be um suffering from grief and loss or traumas or disappointments or issues in our relationships or whatever. And it's really good to have someone to talk to you because a lot of times people are very socially isolate especially during this time or maybe they have trust issues. So at least if you have someone that you can talk to and express, you know how you feel and talk about your goals and wants and needs and wishes and and help you to manifest better. That even that is great. So I would definitely encourage that. What advice can you maybe give to millennials that are in jobs that they simply can't unplug a newsroom, for example, what should those people do? You know, I worked in news and I understand how difficult it is and a lot of the jobs that you have to start at the bottom and you want to be at the top, it's really hard to, you know, get up at those early morning hours and do the jobs that you're thinking, this is below me when you've been to college maybe or you have you believe that you have the skills to be somewhere that you're you know, not currently, but you have to understand that to be in front of the camera, you have to learn how to be behind it and do all the things and learn all the inner workings of life, you know, life itself, whatever job that you're in, So don't have this approach that things are below you because before you know it, you're going to be where you want to be, but it's just going to take one step at a time and just try to keep that positive attitude and don't think of yourself as a failure because you see yourself not where you want to be. Just realize that that's a stepping stone to where you're going, lisa palmer, psychotherapist and founder of the renew center of florida and renew me. Thank you so much lisa.