8 out of 10 young people had recent mental health problems, points out Datafolha

During her increasingly frequent bouts of anxiety, the Brazilian actress and influencer Evelyn Félix, 23, began filming her own anguished face, sometimes with watery eyes.

“I wanted to show another side of my life, very different from that fake routine of social networks”, he says. “I arrived at a place where I felt empty and desperate. Sometimes I didn’t even want to wake up”, she recalls, who is currently undergoing treatment.

The images were published on a social network and the video went viral. It’s a sign of the times.

Eight out of ten Brazilians aged 15 to 29 have recently had a mental health problem, according to unpublished data from a Datafolha survey.

Most of these young people suffered from negative thoughts (66%), difficulty concentrating (58%) and anxiety attacks (53%). And a significant minority reported having eating disorders (20%) and suicidal thoughts (13%) or even having injured their own body through self-mutilation (6%). More than half (51%) consider their mental health to be fair, poor or very poor.

In the survey, 1,000 young people aged between 15 and 29 were interviewed in 12 of some of the largest capitals in the country. Conducted on July 20 and 21 of this year, the poll has a margin of error of three percentage points, more or less.

The identification of these sensations and behaviors cannot be taken as a diagnosis, says child and adolescent psychiatrist Gabriela Viegas Stump, who works at Hospital das Clínicas and Sírio Libanês, both in São Paulo.

On the other hand, reports of feelings of sadness, anxiety or what young people called depression, says the professional, either indicate that these people have a mental health problem or need to be taken as a risk factor for developing problems in the future. .

These and other symptoms faced by young Brazilians in recent times have intensified after the Covid-19 pandemic, at the same time that the formal diagnosis of anxiety and depression among children and adolescents worldwide has increased, in a kind of pandemic of mental illness. .

“Studies clearly show an increase in the rate of mental health problems among young people and an intensification of this increase in the post-pandemic”, says Stump. She points out that there was both an increase in problems among people who already had previous pathologies and an increase in new cases of depression and anxiety.

Experts point out that youth vulnerability is also related to the greater exposure to domestic and parental violence that occurred during the period of confinement and to the loss of important factors that protect the mind, such as school or university attendance and the practice of sports activities. , aspects harmed in recent years because of the pandemic.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), half of all mental health conditions start around age 14, but the vast majority of cases go undiagnosed or untreated. And the consequences of this lack of care have repercussions in adult life, limiting future opportunities.

An analysis carried out within the framework of the LSE (London School of Economics) in the United Kingdom estimates that mental disorders that lead young people to disability or death lead to a reduction in contributions to savings of almost US$ 390 billion a year.

The Datafolha Jovem survey points out that these problems are more reported by girls and women (90%) than by boys and men (76%). It also appears more frequently among people who identify as LGBTQIA+ (92%) than among those who declare themselves as heterosexual (81%).

A woman’s greater susceptibility to some symptoms, says Stump, may be related to hormonal issues in adolescence. “But we must take into account that there is a cultural gender difference and that women seem to be less ashamed than men of putting themselves in the shoes of someone who needs mental health care,” she says.

International studies have also found that LGBTQIA+ people are twice as likely to feel depressed and 2 to 6 times more likely to commit suicide.

“These are people who have less emotional support from the family, who are more likely to suffer bullying, to live in segregated environments, to not be able to express their identity. All this makes the LGBT population at greater risk of mental health problems”, he evaluates.

The international medical literature that focuses on the post-pandemic mental health issue points out that young people complain of loneliness twice as often as other age groups. Research also points out that self-harm and suicidal ideation have increased in the group across the planet.

In Canada, suicidal thoughts grew from 6% to 18% among young people. In the United States, from 17% to 27%. In China, from 23% to 30%.

“There was a very important increase in suicide attempts among teenagers. I’ve never had so many patients hospitalized for trying to take their own lives”, reports the psychiatrist. Stump stresses the importance of the growing health care and stigma reduction movement, which allows more people to feel free to seek help.

“There needs to be a greater awareness that there are possibilities for psychological and psychiatric treatment for mental health problems”, he warns. “These are treatable conditions, and with very important repercussions on people’s well-being.”

It was like this with the Manaus influencer Evelyn Félix. “I spent years trying to live a good life without anyone’s help and, after a lot of suffering, I decided to seek help from someone who wouldn’t judge me for my thoughts and who would help me find new ways to deal with or reverse my crises”, he says. “Professional help has been fundamental”, she celebrates.