Guide
Why Gen Z feels so overwhelmed
If you are somewhere between 13 and 28 and everything feels like too much, you are not imagining it and you are not weak. Here is what is going on, and what actually helps.
By Mr. Chakkaravarthy RK
Child Coach, Memory Coach, Neurobics Expert, NLP Master · Life Coach
Updated 4 October 2026 · about 6 minutes to read
Older people sometimes say young people today have it easy: phones, options, freedom. Many young people feel the opposite. More choice, more comparison, more noise, and less sleep.
Both can be true. This guide is not about who has it harder. It is about what is making things feel heavy for Gen Z, and what helps.
Comparison, all day
Why do I always feel behind everyone?
Because you are seeing everyone's best moments, constantly. A classmate's placement, a cousin's engagement, a stranger's trip, a friend's new phone, all before breakfast. You are not behind. You are comparing your inside to everyone's outside.
Your own life arrives with all the boring and difficult parts included. Theirs arrives edited. No real life can win that comparison, and trying to is exhausting.
What tends to help
- Muting or unfollowing accounts that leave you feeling worse, even friends. Muting is not unfriending.
- No phone for the first and last half hour of the day.
- Comparing yourself with yourself a year ago, not with a feed.
When your mind will not switch off
How do I stop overthinking?
Overthinking is replaying a conversation from last week, planning for problems that may never happen, or lying awake at 2 a.m. deciding what someone's "ok" really meant.
It gets worse with tiredness, too much screen time and too little movement, which is exactly the routine many young people fall into. It gets better with the opposite.
Trying to stop thinking rarely works. Giving the thoughts somewhere to go does: writing them down, saying them out loud to someone, or setting a fixed "worry time" in the evening.
What tends to help
- A fixed sleep time, and the phone charging outside the bed.
- Writing down what is going round in your head before sleeping.
- A walk, a game outside, anything that moves the body daily.
Situationships, ghosting and love failure
Why does a situationship hurt so much when it was not even official?
Because the feelings were real even if the label was not. A situationship adds a second layer of stress: you never knew where you stood, so you could never relax, and when it ends you are told you have no right to be upset.
Being ghosted is similar. There is no ending, only silence, so the mind keeps looking for one. It is normal for that to take time to settle.
What tends to help
- Allowing it to count. You are allowed to be sad about something that never had a name.
- Asking clearly next time: "What are we?" is a fair question.
- Reading our guide on moving on after love failure if it still hurts.
Career pressure and parents who do not get it
My parents do not understand what I am going through. What do I do?
Many parents grew up with fewer choices and a clearer path: study, get a job, marry. Your world has more options and more uncertainty, and that is genuinely hard to explain to someone who never lived it.
Arguments usually start when both sides feel unheard. Choosing a calm moment, describing what is happening rather than what they are doing wrong, and asking for one specific thing goes further than a fight at dinner.
What tends to help
- One calm conversation with the parent who listens more.
- A plan, not just a feeling, for career disagreements.
- Someone outside the family to talk it through with first.
When it is too much
If you are thinking of harming yourself, feel life is not worth living, or are being hurt or threatened by someone, including online, please reach out today. You do not need permission, and you will not be judged.
- 14416 Tele-MANAS — free mental health support, 24 hours, in Tamil and English.
- 112 Emergency response — police, ambulance, fire.
- 1098 Childline — free, 24 hours, for anyone under 18 who needs help or is not safe.
- 1930 National Cyber Crime Helpline — if someone threatens to share your photos or messages. You can also report at cybercrime.gov.in.
All free and confidential. You can call even if you are not sure it is serious enough.
What Gen Z counselling is
A private, no-lecture space to talk about what is actually going on: overthinking, the phone, a situationship, career pressure or home. Sessions are practical, at your pace, in Tamil, English or a mix, by video, voice call or in person. More on the Gen Z counselling page.
For anyone under 18, a parent or guardian is involved in arranging sessions. This guide is published by Feathers Life Coach, a single-practitioner practice in Neyveli, Cuddalore district.
Questions people ask first
Is counselling only for serious problems?
No. Most young people come for everyday things that have become hard to manage alone: overthinking, pressure, relationships, home or sleep.
Will anyone find out?
Sessions are confidential, and online sessions can be taken from your own room. The limits are explained at the first session.
What age is Gen Z counselling for?
Roughly 13 to 28: school, college, a first job, or in between.
Can I just message first?
Yes. Start on WhatsApp with a short hello. You do not have to explain everything.
Is there free help?
Yes. Tele-MANAS on 14416 is free, in Tamil, 24 hours a day.
If this is your house
One conversation is enough to find out whether it helps. Sessions run in Tamil or English, in person in Neyveli or online from anywhere.