The Great Lock-In: Why Gen Z Is Choosing Survival Over Self-Care (And It's Not What You Think)
mental-health

The Great Lock-In: Why Gen Z Is Choosing Survival Over Self-Care (And It's Not What You Think)

The Great Lock-In: Why Gen Z experiences burnout 17 years earlier and what to do when self-care isn't affordable. Australian mental health guide.

The Great Lock-In: Why Gen Z Is Choosing Survival Over Self-Care (And It's Not What You Think)

"I cancelled therapy to pay my rent. Then I felt guilty for cancelling therapy. Then I couldn't afford therapy to talk about the guilt. Welcome to the great lock-in." - @anxiousinthehouse, TikTok (2.3M views)

This comment has sparked a viral movement across TikTok, Reddit, and Instagram where Gen Z Australians are sharing their stories of being "locked in" to survival mode—working multiple jobs just to make rent, giving up mental healthcare to cover bills, and watching self-care become an impossible luxury.

The punchline? They're not lazy. They're not entitled. They're experiencing burnout at age 25—17 years earlier than Millennials and Gen X did.

And the "Great Lock-In" isn't about poor time management or avocado toast budgeting. It's a genuine mental health crisis where basic survival has completely overridden the possibility of wellness.

Here's what's actually happening—and what you can do when you're locked in with no visible exit.


Hi, I'm Sisi 🦊

I see this every single day. Brilliant 24-year-olds scrolling job boards at 3am because their casual contracts just got cut. International students working three jobs while studying full-time. Young professionals who've given up on therapy, hobbies, and social life because every dollar goes to rent.

I'm not here to tell you to "just practice gratitude" or "make a vision board." I'm here to sit with you in the reality of what you're experiencing and help you find tiny footholds in survival mode.

My co-creator TH burned out so severely in her 40s she had to rebuild her entire life. Now she's studying psychology to understand why good people keep breaking under systems designed to grind them down. Together, we created SisiTheFox because you deserve support that actually gets it.


What Is "The Great Lock-In"? (And Why It's Not Just Burnout)

The term originated on TikTok in early 2025 when Gen Z users started sharing eerily similar experiences:

  • Working multiple jobs but still living paycheck to paycheck
  • Cancelling therapy because they couldn't afford the gap fee
  • Giving up hobbies, social life, and mental health care to survive
  • Feeling "locked in" to survival mode with no foreseeable exit
  • Choosing basic needs (food, rent, transport) over mental health consistently

The Great Lock-In isn't laziness. It's not "kids these days" being dramatic. It's a documented mental health phenomenon where Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs has completely collapsed.

The Australian Context

In Australia, the Great Lock-In hits particularly hard due to:

Housing Crisis:

  • Median rent in Sydney: $650-750/week for a 1-bedroom
  • Melbourne: $500-600/week
  • Brisbane: $550-650/week
  • That's $2,600-3,000/month before you eat, travel, or exist

Wage Stagnation:

  • Median Gen Z income (22-27): $55,000-65,000
  • After tax: $45,000-52,000
  • After rent (60%+ of income): $18,000-20,000 left for the YEAR
  • That's $1,500-1,700/month for food, transport, utilities, phone, insurance, and... mental health?

Mental Health Cost Barrier:

  • Average therapy session: $200-300
  • Medicare rebate: $89.65
  • Your cost per session: $110-210
  • Medicare limit: 10 sessions/year
  • To afford weekly therapy, you'd need to spend 15-20% of your remaining income after rent

The Math Doesn't Math:

  • Rent: 60% of income
  • Therapy: 15-20% of remaining income
  • Food, transport, bills: ???
  • Something has to give. And it's your mental health.

Why This Is Different from "Regular Burnout"

Traditional burnout happens when you work too hard for too long. You rest, you recover, you bounce back.

The Great Lock-In is different because:

  1. There's no exit strategy - It's not "work hard now, rest later." It's "work hard forever and still barely survive."

  2. Recovery requires resources you don't have - Traditional burnout advice: "Take time off! Go to therapy! Practice self-care!" Lock-in reality: "I can't afford to take time off. I can't afford therapy. Self-care costs money I don't have."

  3. The system is broken, not you - Burnout suggests individual failure. Lock-in reveals systemic failure: housing crisis, wage stagnation, healthcare barriers, cost-of-living catastrophe.

  4. It's chronic, not acute - Burnout has a beginning, middle, and end. Lock-in is indefinite. You don't know when (or if) it will end.

"I'm not burned out from working too hard. I'm burned out from working hard and still barely surviving." - r/AusFinance


The Psychology of Survival Mode: Why "Just Self-Care" Doesn't Work

Let's talk about why every well-meaning piece of advice—meditation apps, bubble baths, gratitude journals—feels insulting when you're locked in.

Maslow's Hierarchy: When Basic Needs Aren't Met, Healing Is Impossible

You've probably seen Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs pyramid in psych class:

Level 1 (Base): Physiological Needs - Food, water, shelter, sleep Level 2: Safety Needs - Financial security, employment, health Level 3: Love & Belonging - Relationships, community Level 4: Esteem - Achievement, respect, self-confidence Level 5 (Top): Self-Actualization - Personal growth, creativity, meaning

Here's the thing: Self-care, mental health, and personal growth live at Levels 4-5.

The Great Lock-In keeps you trapped at Levels 1-2.

When you're genuinely worried about making rent, when you're working multiple jobs just to eat, when your employment is precarious and your financial future is terrifying—your brain literally cannot prioritize healing.

It's not a moral failure. It's neuroscience.

Fight/Flight/Freeze: What Chronic Stress Does to Your Brain

When your brain perceives a threat (like financial instability, housing insecurity, or employment precarity), it activates your sympathetic nervous system—the "fight or flight" response.

This is designed for short-term acute danger. See predator. Run. Survive. System resets.

The Great Lock-In is chronic danger that never resets. Your brain is constantly in threat-detection mode, which means:

Executive Function Decreases:

  • Harder to make decisions
  • Difficult to plan long-term
  • Creativity shuts down
  • Problem-solving becomes exhausting

Emotional Regulation Breaks:

  • More irritable and reactive
  • Harder to manage anxiety
  • Depression symptoms worsen
  • Emotional numbness or overwhelm

Physical Health Deteriorates:

  • Chronic cortisol elevation damages immune system
  • Sleep architecture disrupted (can't reach deep restorative sleep)
  • Cardiovascular strain increases
  • Digestive issues and inflammation

Social Connection Collapses:

  • No energy for relationships
  • Guilt about not being "fun" anymore
  • Isolation because socializing costs money
  • Shame spirals ("everyone else is coping, why can't I?")

Why "Just Practice Self-Care" Feels Like Gaslighting

When you're locked in survival mode and someone suggests:

  • "Have you tried yoga?" (Yoga classes: $25-35)
  • "You should prioritize therapy!" (Therapy: $200-300/session)
  • "Just take a mental health day!" (Lost income: $150-300)
  • "Practice gratitude!" (I'm grateful I made rent. Now what?)

It's not that these things don't work. It's that they require resources—time, money, energy—that you literally don't have when you're in survival mode.

Suggesting self-care to someone in the Great Lock-In is like telling someone drowning to "just relax and enjoy the water."

You can't self-care your way out of systemic failure.


Why Gen Z Is Experiencing This 17 Years Earlier Than Previous Generations

Millennials typically burned out around age 42. Gen X around 45. Gen Z is hitting burnout at 25.

Why?

Economic Factors: The Numbers Tell the Story

Housing Affordability Crisis:

  • 1990s: Median house price = 3-4x median annual income
  • 2025: Median house price = 10-13x median annual income
  • Result: Homeownership has shifted from "achievable goal" to "impossible dream" for most Gen Z

Rental Crisis:

  • 1990s: Average rent = 20-25% of income
  • 2025: Average rent = 50-70% of income for Gen Z
  • Result: Most of your income disappears before you exist as a human being

Wage Stagnation vs. Cost of Living:

  • Minimum wage increase (2000-2025): +68%
  • Housing costs increase (2000-2025): +320%
  • Education costs increase: +180%
  • Healthcare costs increase: +150%
  • Result: Your dollars buy significantly less survival than your parents' dollars did

Student Debt Reality:

  • Average HECS debt: $23,500 (and rising with indexation at 7%+ in recent years)
  • Repayment kicks in at $51,550 income
  • Result: Even "good jobs" leave you underwater

Gig Economy Trap:

  • 35% of Gen Z work casual/contract jobs
  • No sick leave, no annual leave, no job security
  • Result: You're always one cancelled shift away from crisis

Climate Anxiety: The Existential Weight

Previous generations didn't grow up with:

  • Regular "unprecedented" natural disasters
  • Scientists saying we have 10 years to avoid catastrophic change
  • Watching climate refugees and thinking "that could be us"
  • Genuine uncertainty about whether the world will be liveable in 30 years

Climate anxiety isn't irrational. It's a reasonable response to terrifying data.

And it's exhausting to plan for a future that genuinely might not exist as you know it.

Pandemic Trauma: The Lost Developmental Years

Gen Z hit critical developmental milestones during lockdowns:

  • Age 18-22 (2020-2024): University years, first jobs, identity formation, social skill development, romantic relationships
  • Age 22-25 (2022-2025): Career establishment, financial independence, adult identity consolidation

These years shape your entire adult trajectory. And Gen Z lost them to lockdowns, social isolation, and uncertainty.

The psychological impact of interrupted development is profound and we're only beginning to understand it.

Social Media: The Comparison Catastrophe

Previous generations didn't have:

  • 24/7 highlight reels of everyone else's "success"
  • Influencers pretending minimalist living is aesthetically fulfilling rather than financially necessary
  • Hustle culture glorifying burning out
  • Algorithm-driven rage bait designed to keep you anxious and scrolling

Social media amplifies every inadequacy while simultaneously selling you the solution to inadequacies it created.

Hustle Culture: When Rest Is Rebranded as Laziness

Gen Z inherited a work culture that says:

  • "If you're not grinding, you're falling behind"
  • "Your worth = your productivity"
  • "Sleep is for the weak"
  • "Side hustles aren't optional—they're survival"

Working yourself into the ground isn't ambition. It's the only way to afford basic survival.

And then when you burn out from working three jobs? You're told you're not "resilient enough."

Mental Healthcare Accessibility: The Cruel Paradox

You need therapy most when you can't afford it.

Medicare Mental Health Care Plan:

  • Provides 10 subsidized sessions/year
  • Rebate: $89.65/session
  • Average gap fee: $110-210/session
  • 10 sessions costs you: $1,100-2,100

For someone locked in survival mode:

  • That's 1-2 months of rent
  • OR 2-3 months of food
  • OR 6-8 months of utilities
  • OR immediate vs. long-term survival

The choice is impossible. And the system knows it.


The Dangerous Cycle: When You Can't Afford to Heal

Here's how the Great Lock-In becomes a self-perpetuating trap:

Step 1: Financial Stress Causes Mental Health Crisis

  • You're working multiple jobs
  • Still can't afford rent + food + bills comfortably
  • Constant anxiety about money
  • Depression from feeling trapped

Step 2: Mental Health Crisis Needs Treatment

  • You need therapy, medication, or support
  • You research options
  • You find out therapy costs $200-300/session
  • You can't afford it

Step 3: Untreated Mental Health Worsens Financial Situation

  • Depression makes it harder to work effectively
  • Anxiety makes it harder to interview for better jobs
  • Burnout reduces productivity and opportunities
  • Physical health deteriorates (sick days, medical costs)

Step 4: Worsening Finances Worsen Mental Health

  • Now you're more stressed about money
  • And feeling guilty about being stressed
  • And feeling like a failure for not coping
  • And more isolated because you can't afford social activities

Step 5: Lock-In Intensifies

  • You're working harder than ever
  • Your mental health is worse than ever
  • Your financial situation hasn't improved
  • Your exit options have decreased
  • You're locked in deeper than before

The Cost of NOT Addressing Mental Health

While it feels impossible to afford mental healthcare, research shows untreated mental health costs more in the long run:

Productivity Loss:

  • Depression reduces work productivity by 35%
  • Anxiety reduces productivity by 28%
  • Combined annual income loss: $8,000-15,000

Physical Health Costs:

  • Chronic stress leads to medical conditions requiring treatment
  • Emergency room visits during crisis
  • Preventable hospitalizations

Career Impact:

  • Missing out on promotions due to burnout
  • Job loss due to deteriorating performance
  • Inability to upskill or pivot careers

But here's the impossible reality: Knowing this doesn't help when you still can't afford rent AND therapy.


What Actually Helps When You're Locked In (Not "Just Take a Bubble Bath")

Let's be real: Bubble bath self-care advice is useless when you're in survival mode.

Here's what actually works when you have limited resources, limited time, and limited energy:

A. Micro-Wellness: 0-5 Minute Practices (Free)

These don't fix the systemic problems. But they can give you 10-20% more capacity to survive today.

Box Breathing for Panic (2 minutes):

  1. Breathe in for 4 counts
  2. Hold for 4 counts
  3. Breathe out for 4 counts
  4. Hold for 4 counts
  5. Repeat 5 times

Why it works: Activates your parasympathetic nervous system, temporarily shifting you from "fight/flight" to "rest/digest."

When to use it: Before job interviews, after rejection emails, when rent is due and you're spiralling, Sunday night dread.

2-Minute Body Scan:

  1. Sit or lie down
  2. Notice your feet → ankles → legs → hips → stomach → chest → shoulders → neck → head
  3. Where are you holding tension?
  4. Breathe into those spots for 3 breaths

Why it works: Brings you back into your body when anxiety is future-tripping or depression is ruminating about the past.

Grounding Technique for Dissociation (1 minute):

  • 5 things you can see
  • 4 things you can touch
  • 3 things you can hear
  • 2 things you can smell
  • 1 thing you can taste

Why it works: Anchors you in the present moment when everything feels overwhelming or unreal.

Free Resources:

  • Beyond Blue (24/7): 1300 22 4636
  • Lifeline Text Support: Text 0477 13 11 14
  • Mindspot (Free online therapy programs): mindspot.org.au
  • SisiTheFox Breathing Exercises: Free guided audio

B. System Navigation: How to Access Affordable Mental Healthcare in Australia

Medicare Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP) - Step by Step:

  1. Book GP appointment ($0 with Medicare, or $40-80 if not bulk-billing)
  2. Tell your GP: "I'm experiencing [anxiety/depression/burnout] and would like a Mental Health Care Plan"
  3. GP provides referral for 6 psychology sessions (can extend to 10)
  4. Find a psychologist who bulk-bills or low-gap
    • Search: "bulk billing psychologist [your suburb]"
    • Psychology Today directory (filter by "accepts Medicare")
    • Headspace (youth-focused, often lower fees)

Medicare Rebate:

  • Standard session: $89.65 rebate
  • Your cost: $0-210 (depending on psychologist's fee)

Finding Low-Cost Psychology in Australia:

Bulk-Billing Options:

  • Headspace (ages 12-25): Often bulk-billing or low-cost
  • Community Health Centres (each state has different options)
  • Psychology clinics at universities (supervised students, often $50-80)

Low-Cost Alternatives:

Online Therapy (Cheaper than In-Person):

  • BetterHelp Australia: $90-120/week (unlimited messaging + live sessions)
  • Lysn: $125/session (vs $200-300 in-person)
  • MindFit: $149/month unlimited messaging
  • ReachOut Online Therapy: Free for under 25s

Group Therapy:

  • SANE Australia (free peer support groups)
  • Beyond Blue Support Service
  • Local community centres (often free or $20-40/session)

State-Specific Low-Cost Services:

NSW:

  • NSW Mental Health Line: 1800 011 511
  • Staying Healthy Program (free 10-week course)

VIC:

  • EACH Counselling (low-cost, sliding scale)
  • Mind Australia (free services for some groups)

QLD:

  • Open Minds (low-cost youth mental health)
  • QASN Peer Support (free)

WA:

  • Centrecare (low-cost counselling)
  • Relationships Australia WA (sliding scale fees)

SA:

  • Anglicare SA (low-cost therapy)
  • Relationships Australia SA

TAS:

  • Relationships Australia Tasmania
  • Advocacy Tasmania (free support)

ACT:

  • Toora Women's Mental Health (low-cost)
  • Karralika Programs

NT:

  • Territory Families (free services)
  • Somerville Community Services

C. Community & Connection (Free)

Peer Support vs. Professional Therapy:

Therapy is ideal, but peer support can provide:

  • Validation that you're not alone
  • Practical tips from others in similar situations
  • Emotional support without the $200 price tag
  • Community and reduced isolation

Where to Find Community:

Reddit Communities:

  • r/AusFinance (financial stress solidarity)
  • r/Australia (cost-of-living discussions)
  • r/MentalHealthAU
  • r/povertyfinance (international but relatable)

Discord Communities:

  • Gen Z Mental Health Australia
  • Young Aussies Support Network
  • SisiTheFox Community (we're building this!)

In-Person:

  • Meetup.com (free events, social connection)
  • Local library programs (often free)
  • Community gardens (therapeutic + free)
  • Parkrun (free weekly 5K, social + movement)

When to Prioritize Professional Help:

Peer support is amazing, but please seek professional help if you're experiencing:

  • Suicidal thoughts or self-harm urges
  • Severe depression (can't get out of bed for days)
  • Panic attacks disrupting daily life
  • PTSD or trauma symptoms
  • Substance abuse as coping mechanism

Crisis Support (Free, 24/7):

  • Lifeline: 13 11 14
  • Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636
  • Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
  • Kids Helpline (5-25): 1800 55 1800

D. Practical Survival Strategies (Financial)

Financial Counselling (Free in Australia):

  • National Debt Helpline: 1800 007 007
  • Financial Counselling Australia: Find free counsellors by postcode
  • These services help with:
    • Negotiating with landlords/creditors
    • Understanding Centrelink entitlements
    • Creating realistic budgets
    • Dealing with debt without judgment

Centrelink Mental Health Support:

You may be eligible for:

  • Disability Support Pension (if mental health prevents work >15hrs/week)
  • Rent Assistance (if paying private rent)
  • Low Income Health Care Card (cheaper medicine, bulk-billing priority)

Apply through: myGov + Services Australia

Job Security Without Burning Out More:

This is the impossible balance: You need income stability, but you're already exhausted.

Strategies that help:

  • Temp-to-perm roles (test workplace before committing)
  • Government jobs (better security + leave entitlements)
  • Certificate III/IV in high-demand areas (quick upskilling, better pay)
  • Union membership (workplace protections, advice)

Setting Micro-Boundaries at Work:

When you're locked in, you can't quit. But you can protect yourself incrementally:

  • Actually take your lunch break (even 15 minutes)
  • Use sick leave when sick (that's what it's for)
  • Turn off work notifications after hours
  • Document everything (emails, conversations) for protection
  • Know your workplace rights (Fair Work Ombudsman)

E. Long-Term Path Out of Lock-In

This isn't quick. But it's possible.

Small Skill-Building When Energy Allows:

  • Free online courses (LinkedIn Learning, Coursera audit options)
  • YouTube tutorials for in-demand skills
  • Building portfolio projects incrementally
  • Networking (often free via LinkedIn, Meetup)

Career Pivots That Prioritize Wellbeing:

  • Remote work (saves commute time + money)
  • Government jobs (better conditions, job security)
  • Skills-based roles (less face-time culture)
  • Industries with strong unions (better protections)

Building Your "Fuck-Off Fund" Incrementally:

Even $10/week adds up:

  • Emergency fund = 3 months expenses (ultimate goal)
  • Start with $500 (enough to leave a bad situation)
  • High-interest savings account (ING, Ubank often 4-5%)
  • Automate transfers the day you get paid

Collective Action & Advocacy:

You can't fix the system alone. But together:

  • Join renter advocacy groups (Better Renting, Tenants' Unions)
  • Contact your MP about housing affordability
  • Support union movements
  • Vote for policies that address cost-of-living crisis
  • Share your story (reduces shame, builds solidarity)

SisiTheFox Resources for the Great Lock-In

I created SisiTheFox specifically for people locked in survival mode who can't afford traditional therapy.

Affordable AI Healing Companion

Unlimited emotional support: AI Companion

  • Understands Australian cost-of-living crisis
  • No judgment about cancelled therapy or financial stress
  • Available 24/7 when 3am panic hits
  • Designed for Gen Z burnout, visa anxiety, career stress
  • Cost: $29/month (less than 1/7th of one therapy session)

Why AI Support Helps:

  • Immediate access when you need it (no 3-week wait times)
  • No guilt about "wasting" expensive therapy sessions on bad days
  • Safe space to process before decisions
  • Bridge between crisis and professional help

What It's NOT:

  • Not a replacement for professional therapy for severe mental health conditions
  • Not for crisis intervention (please call Lifeline/Beyond Blue)
  • Not medical advice

What It IS:

  • Emotional support when you can't afford therapy
  • Safe space to process daily stress
  • Guidance on navigating Australian mental health system
  • Validation that you're not failing—the system is failing you

Free Resources

Breathing Exercises: 5-minute anxiety relief Burnout Assessment: Check your burnout level Financial Stress Guide: Navigating money anxiety


The Truth You Need to Hear

You are not failing. The system is failing you.

You're experiencing burnout 17 years earlier than previous generations because:

  • Housing costs 300% more relative to income
  • Mental healthcare costs $2,000-3,000/year out-of-pocket
  • Wages haven't kept pace with cost of living
  • Job security has been replaced with gig economy precarity
  • Climate anxiety is real and rational
  • Pandemic robbed you of critical developmental years

The Great Lock-In isn't your fault.

It's the predictable result of systemic failures compounding into individual crisis.

But here's the thing: You're surviving an objectively harder economic and mental health landscape than your parents faced—and you're still here.

That's not weakness. That's resilience.

What Happens Next

You won't break out of the Great Lock-In overnight. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

But here's what you can do today:

  1. Acknowledge this is real (not dramatics, not laziness—real)
  2. Try one micro-wellness practice (even box breathing for 2 minutes)
  3. Reach out to one person (peer, family, friend, crisis line)
  4. Investigate one affordable resource (Medicare MHCP, bulk-billing psychologist, online therapy, AI companion)
  5. Be gentle with yourself (you're not supposed to self-care your way out of systemic failure)

And remember:

Survival mode is temporary, even when it doesn't feel like it.

The lock-in is real, but locks can be picked incrementally.

You deserve support regardless of your bank balance.

You deserve healing even when you can't afford traditional therapy.

You deserve rest even when capitalism says you don't.

You deserve to exist as a full human being—not just a productivity unit struggling to afford basic survival.


Your Next Step

If you're locked in right now:

  • [ ] Screenshot or save this article (for when you need reminders)
  • [ ] Try box breathing for 2 minutes right now
  • [ ] Contact one resource from the list above this week
  • [ ] Tell one person what you're experiencing
  • [ ] Join our community - SisiTheFox Discord (free)

If you checked 5+ boxes and need immediate support:

  • Call Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) or Lifeline (13 11 14)
  • Book a GP appointment for Mental Health Care Plan
  • Try AI Companion for 24/7 emotional support designed for Australian Gen Z burnout

Can't afford traditional therapy but need someone to talk to?

Try AI Companion ($29/month) →

Unlimited emotional support for less than one coffee per week. Designed specifically for Gen Z burnout, cost-of-living anxiety, and the Great Lock-In.


Let's Talk

I want to hear from you:

💬 Which part of the Great Lock-In hit hardest? 💬 What's helped you survive survival mode? 💬 What resources are missing from this article?

Drop a comment below. Let's build community around this—because lock-ins are easier to escape when you're not alone.


Australian Mental Health Resources

Immediate Crisis Support (Free, 24/7):

  • Lifeline: 13 11 14 (phone) or 0477 13 11 14 (text)
  • Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636
  • Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
  • Kids Helpline (5-25): 1800 55 1800

Medical Support:

  • Talk to your GP about a Mental Health Care Plan (up to 10 subsidized therapy sessions/year)
  • Find bulk-billing GPs: HealthEngine, HotDoc (filter by bulk-billing)

Affordable Therapy:

  • Headspace (12-25): Often bulk-billing or low-gap
  • Online Therapy: BetterHelp, Lysn, MindFit ($90-150/session vs $200-300 in-person)
  • University Psychology Clinics: $50-80/session with supervised students

Financial Support:

  • National Debt Helpline: 1800 007 007 (free financial counselling)
  • Financial Counselling Australia: Find free counsellors by postcode

Centrelink:

  • Mental Health Support: Disability Support Pension, Rent Assistance, Low Income Health Care Card
  • Apply: myGov + Services Australia

24/7 AI Emotional Support:

  • SisiTheFox AI Companion - Designed for Australian Gen Z burnout, cost-of-living stress, career anxiety ($29/month unlimited support)

Related Healing Content

Gen Z Burnout Series:

Explore All Healing Resources →


This article provides emotional support and educational information based on psychological research and Australian mental health data. TH (our co-creator) combines 20 years of data analysis experience with current psychology studies to create evidence-based healing tools. This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you're experiencing a mental health crisis, please contact emergency services (000) or a crisis helpline immediately.


About This Article:

  • Primary Research: Beyond Blue (2024), Australian Bureau of Statistics Mental Health Data (2023-2024), Gen Z Burnout Studies (2023-2025)
  • Cost-of-Living Data: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Domain.com.au rental reports, Australian Government Fair Work Commission
  • Mental Health Service Costs: Australian Psychological Society, Medicare Benefits Schedule, State/Territory mental health services
  • Written: October 2025 | Updated: October 2025

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