It's Been a Minute Young women are struggling, too. Why can't we see it?
Mar 13, 2026
Meg Jay, clinical psychologist specializing in young adulthood, and Faith Hill, Atlantic writer on culture, discuss why young women’s mental health is often ignored. They examine how the twenties are a peak time for anxiety and depression. They compare struggles across genders and probe structural causes like costs and policy gaps. The conversation questions why male distress makes headlines while female suffering is normalized.
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Global Data Shows Women Are Also In Crisis
- Young women show high levels of anxiety and despair across countries, so the narrative that only men are in crisis is incomplete.
- Faith Hill cites a 2024 study of 34 countries finding women fare worse than men on mental health measures.
Degrees Don’t Prove Women Are Thriving
- Women's higher college completion doesn't equal flourishing; it may reflect a different kind of high-functioning struggle.
- Faith Hill warns degree gains can mask persistent depression and anxiety among women.
Your 20s Are The Mental Health Low Point
- Young adulthood is the lifelong mental health low point for both genders, driven by extreme uncertainty in work, relationships, and finances.
- Meg Jay says friends, family, health, and wealth are still up in the air in your 20s, which raises anxiety and depression.
