The Generation X Files

Happy Star Wars Day!

I couldn’t resist. I really couldn’t.

If you’ve seen my avatar (me in full make-up looking like a battle-worn Darth Vader under the helmet) or the photo in my About me section (where I’m rocking the complete Sith Lord armour) you’ll know that May the Fourth is basically my Christmas Day!

But as I look at the calendar, I’ve realised that May isn’t just for Wookiees and X-Wings. It’s also Mental Health Awareness Month in the US (themed “More Good Days, Together” – which, to me, sounds like a slogan cross-stitched on a cushion you aren’t allowed to sit on). It’s also Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK this month (11–17 May, themed “Action”).

The absurdity is staggering. We live in the most “advanced” time in history, yet we’re all perpetually exhausted. For most of us, “Action” usually translates to being sent a generic link to a “Self-Care” PDF. Or being told to “take a deep breath” by the very systems and schedules that are suffocating us in the first place. It’s as if they think a 10-minute recording of a babbling brook can fix the fact that the 21st century is fundamentally broken.

We aren’t just “aware” of mental health anymore. If anything we’re over-aware, over-stimulated and – as a survival mechanism – increasingly, looking to become comfortably numb.

Obligatory “Citizen Jane” Double Disclaimer: I am not a health professional, a doctor, or a Jedi Master. I’m just a Gen Xer with a keyboard and a healthy suspicion of anything sold as a quick-fix. Seriously, I am not qualified to give medical advice. If you are genuinely struggling, please skip to the bottom and talk to a professional.

One more thing: I am not belittling the very real pain of mental health issues. This isn’t to dismiss the harsh reality of mental health challenges. It is to highlight the irony of a society that tears us down, only to sell us a ‘self-care’ subscription to patch up the damage it engineered

I. The Chemical Override: From Appetite to Anxiety 💊

In my last post, Won’t Get Fooled Again, I talked about the “Chemical Override” – using jabs like Ozempic to “turn off” physical hunger because the food system is too broken to fix.

The thing is, we’re doing the same thing to our brains.

For decades, the “Empire” of Big Pharma sold us the “Truth” that depression was a simple chemical imbalance of serotonin. Like a broken machine that just needed a little oil. But recent research has admitted the link isn’t the clear-cut “fix” we were promised. Yet, the antidepressant market is currently worth over $18 billion.

• The Global Pinprick: Statistics show that over 1.1 billion people globally are now living with a mental health condition. In England, nearly 93 million antidepressant items were prescribed in the last year.
• The Tolerance Trap: We are effectively being medicated to cope with a world that is becoming increasingly intolerable. We are looking for a way to mute the symptoms of a 21st-century lifestyle…rather than changing that life itself.

It’s yet another global irony: The West is muted on prescription, while the rest of the world is left to scream into the void.

II. The Technical Solution To A Human Problem

If the chemicals don’t get you, the gadgets will. The “advanced” solutions being pitched in 2026 are getting truly bizarre:

• The AI Soulmate: We now have desktop screens housing an AI “soulmate” to keep you company. (I mean “AI” and “soul” don’t seem to be two things that should go together surely?) We’ve automated human connection and replaced it with a script written by a corporate committee.
• The Simulated “Support”: We’re now being sold “Weighted Hoodies” and heavy blankets designed to mimic the feeling of a hug. It’s the ultimate tragedy: we’ve built a world so emotionally distant that we have to buy a heavy sweatshirt just to feel like someone is holding us.
• The Sentient Kitchen: There is now a “smart” kitchen tool designed to make cutting vegetables “effortless” so you have more headspace. Because clearly, the resistance of a carrot was the final straw for our mental wellbeing.

The Citizen Jane Field Guide (The Rebel Alliance Edition) ✊

Taking back your headspace doesn’t require a £400 “wearable” or a trip to the Dagobah System (sorry, I can’t stop with the Star Wars references!) It requires being…“un-optimised.” Here are my suggestions for the week:

1. The “Input Diet” (Stay off the Holonet): Stop the scroll. Set a maximum number of news articles per day. We weren’t designed to process every global tragedy in real-time!
2. Move with Intention: It’s not all about the gym; try taking a walk without your phone. Movement can be as effective as conventional antidepressants for boosting mood.
3. The Play Protocol (The Ewok Strategy): Play isn’t just for kids. Do something “useless” just for pleasure – draw a picture, build some Lego, or have a little dance in the kitchen.
4. Prioritise Sleep Hygiene: Turn off the screens an hour before bed. Sleep is the biggest protective factor against the fog.
5. The Real Connection (Ditch the Droid): Call a friend. A real, voice-to-voice conversation releases chemicals in the brain that an AI “soulmate” never could.

Join the Rebellion ✊

The Empire wants us in a state of quiet desperation. Buying weighted hoodies to simulate human warmth…instead of questioning why we’re all so isolated.

Your Mission: Pick one suggestion from the checklist below and try it out this week. Then, come back here and tell me about it in the comments.

The Rebel Checklist:

• [ ] Unsubscribe from one “Wellness” newsletter that makes you feel guilty.
• [ ] Spend 20 minutes doing something with your hands (pencils, garden, or even just kneading some dough).
• [ ] Phone a friend for a 10-minute “voice-only” catch-up (ditch the droids!).
• [ ] The “First Hour” Rule: Keep your phone in another room for the first 60 minutes after you wake up. No scrolling before your first coffee!

I want to know one thing you do that is completely useless, non-productive, and just for you? (Bonus points if it involves a pencil and paper).

Let’s build our Field Guide for the Rebel Alliance together in the comments. After all, “Rebellions are built on hope”…

May the Fourth (and the Force) be with you all.

Citizen Jane x ✌️

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Need to Talk?
If you are struggling and need someone to listen, you don’t have to face it alone.

• UK: Call Samaritans for free at 116 123 anytime.
• US: Access the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline through local crisis services.
• Global: Find a local helpline via Befrienders Worldwide or IASP.