Get therapy or pay rent? Millennials, Gen Z making hard choices when it comes to mental health

Cash-strapped Millennials and Gen Zers have been grappling with soaring rents and rising costs of living, which means that to make ends meet, things like therapy are being treated as luxuries, mental health experts say.

"If I had to spend $80 a week on therapy, I would not. I have too many other responsibilities," said 36-year-old Steven Lecky, noting he prioritizes things like covering his mortgage to keep a roof over his family's head.

"I'm already at a state where I have to choose whether to save a little bit of money or have any social life," he said. "If I do want to go out, I have to really pinch my pennies."

According to mental health experts, many young adults have said their lives lack meaning or purpose, with financial stress, food and housing insecurity, unemployment, loneliness and pressure to achieve among the leading causes of anxiety and depression. And experts suggest they're often not getting the help they need to deal with those mental health issues. 

"When we look at the hierarchy of needs, food, water and shelter are the most basic necessities," said Jessica Kristy, a registered social worker at the online therapy practice Shift Collab.

"So, if groceries are rising in prices and the cost of living is getting higher and the basic needs aren't being met, then it's a threat to safety and people are in survival mode."

Data released from the Canadian Institute for Health Information earlier this year shows 29 per cent of Canadians 18 and older said they'd experienced depression, anxiety or another mental health condition in 2023, up from 20 per cent in 2016.

On average, private therapy costs $150 per hour, but rates can range from anywhere between $60 to $250 depending on various factors. So even if a person was looking to have two therapy sessions a month, that could add up to $3,600 annually.

The average income for Canadians between the ages of 25-54 is $68,000, according to Statistics Canada. So once rent, groceries and bills are paid, there isn't much left for therapy.

People are working hard to make ends meet and changing their expectations of what they thought their lives would look like, Kristy said, noting that being unable to obtain their goals can lead people to feel behind in life, and trying to catch up can eventually result in burnout.

It can mean feeling like you're stuck in a loop, mental health professionals say, with the stresses of life sometimes leading to the need for therapy, and being unable to afford therapy leading to more stress and anxiety. 

"It's anxiety provoking not knowing if you can pay rent in a given month, if you can pay for food, if you're going to have a partner, what the future holds," said Dr. Natasha Saunders, a physician, who is also a scientist at Ontario-based ICES, formerly known as the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.

A lot of people are also out of work and having a hard time finding jobs, with Canada's unemployment rate rising to 6.6 per cent in August. This is the highest it's been since 2017, excluding the volatile swings of the pandemic.

This is a generation that has been seeing more unemployment and job uncertainty early on in their careers just as they're trying to establish themselves, said Dr. Saunia Ahmad, director and clinical psychologist at the Toronto Psychology Clinic.