New Delhi, Oct. 31 -- If you have spent enough time on social media, you have probably heard someone say, "I am having a Menty B," "I am so stressy depressy," or "I need to protect my peace."
Gen Z has created an entire vocabulary for talking about mental health. Some of it is funny, some of it is surprisingly insightful, and a lot of it can be confusing. The interesting part is that young people are talking about mental health in a language that feels like their own.
So, here is a quick translation guide.
When your brain has had enough
Menty B is short for "mental breakdown" and is usually used jokingly when someone feels completely overwhelmed.
Stressy depressy is a playful way of saying you are feeling anxious or low without using a clinical label.
Crash out: Losing your cool, snapping or having an emotional outburst. It may be used for something serious or something as minor as your food order arriving wrong.
Bed rotting describes spending hours, sometimes an entire day, lying in bed doing very little. For some people, it is intentional rest, but for others, it can be a sign of depression, exhaustion or withdrawal.
Neurospicy is a playful, non-clinical term often used by neurodivergent people to describe brains that process the world differently, particularly in relation to ADHD or autism. It can make conversations about neurodiversity feel less clinical and more accessible.
But there is a catch: being "neurospicy" is NOT a diagnosis.
Similarly, Gen Z stare describes that blank, frozen expression someone may have when overwhelmed, awkward or unsure how to respond. Sometimes, it may reflect a stress response or simply social awkwardness. The internet has a way of turning complicated psychological experiences into highly relatable memes.
Protecting my peace has become shorthand for setting boundaries and stepping away from situations that repeatedly drain you, which can be healthy. But boundaries are not the same as avoiding every uncomfortable conversation or cutting off anyone who disagrees with you.
Glimmers are tiny moments of safety, comfort or joy that make you feel unexpectedly calm: your favourite song, a hug or your pet running towards you. They are the opposite of triggers.
Brain rot is used to describe the foggy, exhausted, distracted feeling that can follow too much consumption of low-effort online content. Again, it is not a medical diagnosis, but the experience is familiar to anyone who has opened Instagram for five minutes and emerged an hour later, wondering where their evening went.
Silencing the inner saboteur refers to challenging the harsh internal voice that says, "You are not good enough," "You will fail," or "Everyone else is doing better."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.