Worrying rise in mental illness among young people

Intergenerational inequality, unregulated social networks, wage theft, precarious employment and the climate crisis are fueling a "dangerous" and "alarming" global rise in mental illness among young people, a consortium of health experts has warned.

There is an urgent need to address these driving factors and improve the treatment of mental illness in order to reduce the rates of premature death, disability and lost potential, which have escalated over the past two decades, according to research by the Lancet's Youth Mental Health Commission.

The paper, published on Wednesday, was led by the executive director of Australia's Origen Center of Excellence for Youth Mental Health, psychiatrist Professor Patrick McGorry, who said "this is the most serious public health problem we have", The Guardian reported.

"If the rapid deterioration of health was happening in any other area of ​​health, such as diabetes or cancer, governments would take drastic measures," he said.

While mental illness accounts for at least 45 percent of the total burden of disease in people aged 10 to 24, only two percent of global health budgets are dedicated to protecting mental health, the report shows.

Even in the richest countries, less than half of these needs are met, the report states.

There is a "contradiction that society often shows towards young people and their needs", McGorry said.

"However, we see a great division of society, really caused by the economic theory of neoliberalism that we work under, where everything is a commodity," he said.

If rapid deterioration were to occur in any other area of ​​health, such as diabetes or cancer, governments would take drastic measures

This global emphasis on individualism and competition destroys social bonds, erodes public welfare and services, and empowers harmful industries and corporations, McGorry added.

"It may seem on the face of it that previous generations had it harder, given the Great Depression, world wars and nuclear threats," McGorry said. “But in fact, there is much less certainty and hope for the future of the current generation than ever before. The challenges facing today's generation of young people are unprecedented, devastating and worse than ever before".

He said that in many countries the median house price is several times higher than the average annual salary. In addition, poorly regulated social media and digital platforms, which fuel political polarization, leave young people increasingly isolated, McGorry said.

"There are so many harmful things happening on the platforms that the tech giants are responsible for, and they are completely a law unto themselves," he said.

"It is not the youth who are the problem, nor should we restrict them. We should make the digital environment safe”.

A 23-year-old woman who advises Origen on its youth strategies, who asked to be identified only as Li, said she was first exposed to pornography on the Internet when she was just 12 and it had a lasting and devastating effect. impact on her self-confidence and body image.

"There is so much adult content on the Internet, and exposure to it is often completely unwanted," Li said.

"I felt that the Internet was a place where I could escape or connect with other people from all over the world who had similar experiences to me. But instead, I was exposed to really unregulated, really bad content, and my parents' generation really doesn't understand that."

The work of the commission, whose co-authors are psychiatrists, psychologists, researchers and young people, describes how young people are the biggest users of the Internet, often "continuously" online, which can lead to harmful consequences and risks for mental health.

The paper warns: "Mental illnesses, which for decades have been a leading health and social problem affecting the lives and future of young people, have entered a dangerous phase."

"It is a major threat to the lives and futures of young people, and alarming evidence suggests that its prevalence and impact are steadily increasing in many high-resource settings."

An accompanying analysis led by King's College London acknowledges that much of the evidence supporting the commission's report comes from high-income countries, which is problematic because 90 percent of children and adolescents live in low- and middle-income countries that "have the highest burden of mental illness."

In low- and middle-income countries, the level of unmet need for mental health services can reach nearly 100 percent, said World Health Organization (WHO) spokeswoman Karla Drysdale.

"All countries, regardless of limited resources, can take steps to improve prevention and care for the mental health of young people," she said. Building a lay workforce that includes school counselors, community workers and peers is key, she said.

"WHO supports countries' efforts to build community-based mental health care for young people, redesigning services and care pathways in a way that makes them accessible".

In low- and middle-income countries, the level of unmet need for mental health services can reach nearly 100 percent.

The Guardian writes that suicide is the leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 44 in Australia, 15 to 19 in New Zealand and 15 to 39 in India.

A child and youth psychiatrist who was not involved in the commission's report, Dr Paul Denborough, described the Lancet paper as "accurate, in the sense that a society where there is greater inequality and marginalization is very destructive".

"Government policies really don't favor young people," he said.

"Young people are aware of the intergenerational injustice in politics - they say: 'You old people don't care about us'".

Denborough is the clinical director of a free or low-cost service for young people aged 12 to 25 in Australia.

He said that it is important to recognize the multiple stressors that young people face and address the root causes of that stress, instead of automatically labeling young people with mental illness.

"Inequality, lack of affordable housing, insecure employment and the policies that encourage it are often the root cause," he said.

"If society does not look at its actions through the prism of intergenerational justice and does not deal with the causes, then only temporary solutions to problems are provided".