Mental Health Day has become a key date to make visible a problem that crosses all social strata
However, it is insufficient. Every year it seems that the echo of awareness campaigns is lost in the institutional vacuum. Symbolic efforts abound, but in action, real intervention is insufficient. This year, suicide prevention has been a central theme. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost 800,000 people die by suicide each year, one every 40 seconds.
How is it possible that in the face of such a tragedy we continue to delegate mental health to the bottom of our priorities? Perhaps because the resources allocated to psychological care are insufficient. Going to the psychologist has become a true luxury. Appointments with specialists occur at least every six months. lThe agendas are saturated. The Ministry of Health, in an attempt to alleviate this crisis, allocated 54.4 million euros for the 2022-2024 Mental Health Plan. But is it enough? Almost 50% of the money is invested in prescription medications and sick leave due to stress and anxiety. we are doing something wrong. Isn’t it more logical to invest in professionals who can care for people before they reach those limits?
Overloaded doctors, who complain of not being able to offer quality care, are forced to prescribe pills. The lack of psychologists in the public system leaves thousands of people without the possibility of accessing therapies, and many of them are forced to access a private psychologist. Only 30% of approximately 9,000 clinical psychologists work in the public system. If we go to the doctor when we have a fever or pain, why don’t we do the same when our mind asks us for help?
How do you invest in mental health?
Fund transfers to the Autonomous Communities for mental health reached 579 million euros. Andalusia with more than 197 million euros allocated and Madrid With more than 85, they continue to report serious problems with public attention. Not only more money is needed, but true political will is needed to build an accessible, efficient and humane mental health system. The Spanish Society of Psychiatry and Mental Health (SEPM) estimates that between 370 and 765 psychiatrists additional each year, reaching at least 1850 in the next five years to meet growing demand. Meanwhile, the use of psychotropic drugs continues to increase. We have become accustomed to anesthetizing discomfort instead of addressing it. This is simply a reflection of how we treat human suffering. The mental health can’t wait any longer, we can’t continue depending on sleeping pills, anxiolytics and antidepressants.
The employment situation
He work environment is one of the main problems that impacts people’s mental health. Lack of sleep, tachycardia or work stress have become routine symptomsaccepted as part of the modern life. The economic instabilitywhere the anxiety of not making ends meet, not finding work or fear of losing a job aggravates people’s mental situation. Insecurity and financial inability limit people from resorting to pill treatments to continue their routine.
At a global level, the WHO It is estimated that 12 billion work days are lost each year due to depression and anxietywhich also translates into a loss of productivity of around 1 billion dollars annually. In Spain, as in other neighboring countries, this translates into excessive workloads, discrimination and workplace harassment. A healthy work environment not only is it a fundamental rightbut also protects the mental health of employees and promotes productivity.
Structural factors in the youth mental health crisis
While the problems facing mental health are institutional, they are also structural. Diet culture, for example, places constant pressure on our bodiesgenerating blame and fears with every bite. Wave promotion in the social networks of unattainable bodieswhere people enter a spiral of anxiety and low self-esteem. The data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) are alarming: between the 10% and the 20% of the European teenagers suffer from a mental health problem, while around two million young people in Europe suffer from mental disorders.
In Spain, specialists warn about the need to create a Mental Health Commissioner and the implementation of specific regional plans. As well as the reinforcement of the child and adolescent psychiatry service, the increase in hospital beds and the improvement in coordination with Primary Care. In addition, tools such as the questionnaire PHQ-2 to detect depression, as well as validated scales for eating disorders (TCA) and ADHDare essential for early intervention. In countries like Englandmental health screening has already been implemented in the youth population, and in Spain some autonomous communities have begun to apply these types of measures.
Stigmatizing people with mental disorders as violent or dangerous, annoying or lying is a mistake. Far from being a threat to society, they are vulnerable people who need more support. Mental health is a rshared responsibility. It is true that we must be attentive to the people we love, but we also need institutions that support this care with professional resources and above all, public.