Non-govermental organisations are demanding measures to improve mental health and, on World Mental Health Day in particular, want to raise the awareness of the vulnerable situation of youth and young adults in Switzerland.
Today’s World Mental Health Day is focused on the theme “mental health is a universal human right”. Good mental health is also a child right. As a group, children and young people are particularly vulnerable and their mental development must be strengthened, supported and protected. But the mental health of youth and young adults is severely impaired. Public Health Schweiz, the Swiss National Youth Council (SAJV), UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Association romande CIAO and Pro Juventute are demanding measures to improve mental health and, on World Mental Health Day in particular, want to raise the awareness of the vulnerable situation of youth and young adults in Switzerland.
NGOs and youth address the precarious situation of mental health
A study conducted by UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein returned the alarming finding that 37% of young people between the ages of 14 and 19 suffer from mental health problems, and 29% of them do not talk to anybody about these problems. Waiting periods of several months for admission to outpatient and inpatient therapy and an increase in demand paint a picture of the worsening situation.
The first step towards a participatory approach focusing on the analysis of the causes and the prevention of mental health problems and conditions among young people was taken at a conference held on May 24, 2023. The central youth councils met with Public Health Schweiz, the Swiss National Youth Council (SAJV), UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Association romande CIAO and Pro Juventute at this conference to discuss the increase in mental health problems among youth and young adults. There was a lively discussion about the causes and possible solutions, and all participants underlined the urgent need to do something about this dramatic situation.
Causes of mental health problems among young people
Anxiety disorders and depression are among the most common mental health problems. This hardly comes as a surprise in these times of multiple crises around the world, which are presented to us daily by the media as something to which we are seemingly helplessly exposed. Various long-term studies have confirmed that young people have continuously been losing their confidence in their future over the past several years. This should be a cause for concern.
The conference report mentions the following causes, among others:
- A lack of protection factors and an increase in risk factors in early childhood can threaten a child’s development far beyond their teenage years
- Stigmatization of mental health problems and having to make use of psychosocial support services
- Growing performance pressure and stress at school and during apprenticeship programs, in particular for girls and young women
- Work intensification caused by digitalization and the related need to be constantly available, which makes a psychological detachment from work impossible. This means that there is not enough time for relaxation
- Social media has been identified as another cause of mental health problems among young people. Constantly comparing oneself to successful ideal figures, with likes and dislikes and cyber bullying, can severely affect identity development and the sense of self-worth
- Young people whose families are in a difficult situation are particularly vulnerable, e.g. if they have to take care of parents with mental health problems
Recommendations by the conference:
Based on the identified causes of mental health problems among young people and the conviction that mental health is a child right, the following recommendations were formulated:
- Promotion of prevention programs in childhood that ensure cooperation between professionals in the healthcare, social services and education sectors
- Promotion of projects that serve to destigmatize mental health problems and encourage the use of psychosocial support services such as those offered by Pro Juventute and Association romande CIAO
- Better financing for low-threshold offers and improving their recognition among young people
- Improved laws and regulations for the prevention and promotion of health at the national level
- Improvement of the inadequate healthcare available to mentally ill youth and young people by way of measures to increase personnel resources and improve financial framework conditions
- Improvement of the database relating to mental health among young people
- Provision of financial resources to ensure the participation of young people in the formulation of solutions
What next?
Mental health has been a particular concern of the public and professionals since the COVID-19 pandemic, even though mental health problems had already been increasing among young people for more than a decade. There is no reason to believe that this trend will stop by itself. At the conference, the awareness that urgent action is needed was palpable among young people and professionals. The sponsors will further pursue the recommendations and present them to public policymakers. We will stay on the ball!
