According to a survey by the consulting firm Ipsos in 2023, mental health is the health problem that most worries the world’s population, with an average of 44%. This perception began to spread especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, and is supported by increasing figures in the incidence of disorders such as anxiety and depression or the suicide rate. Are there objective causes that explain this apparent widespread decline in mental health? Or are problems that were previously invisible simply coming to light? We have asked seven renowned experts.
We are immersed in a society that seems designed to break us: stress suffocates us, digital loneliness consumes us, and the pressure to be perfect crushes us. Before, these sufferings were experienced in silence, invisible and suffocating. Today, we have torn away that veil, and what we discovered is overwhelming. It’s not that we are more fragile now, it’s that we finally dare to name the pain that was always there.
Mental health is at the center of the storm. The question is not whether we are conscious, but whether we will be able to transform that consciousness into action. Can we build a society that stops feeding on suffering and, instead, cultivates care, empathy and emotional well-being?
This question has a difficult answer. Today’s society faces challenges that scare our brains. The constant demands that prompt us to connect, productivity and expose our lives generate an imbalance with our resources, which gives rise to a stress response, chronic in most cases. And numerous studies have shown that a sustained stress response can lead to anxiety disorders and depression. With this approach, we would say that the pace that current society sustains does work in favor of mental illness.
The other side of the coin lies in information. It is not only the pace of life that brings us closer to this mismatch between our resources and the demands of the environment, but we have immediate and reliable information about the symptoms of practically all mental illnesses. Even celebrities talk openly about their diagnoses. Therefore, an important pillar of the taboo that mental illness assumed decades ago has been demolished.
Overall, if I had to answer with a closed answer, from my training in neuroscience I consider that today’s human being – at least, his brain – has not evolved enough as the society that surrounds him has, and that the increase of mental disorders is a side effect of this.
Adolfo J. Cangas: Professor of Psychology at the University of Almería
The issue can be understood as two perspectives of the same phenomenon. On the one hand, starting from the conceptualization, developed by the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, of the “liquid society” in which we live, it is possible to observe how interpersonal relationships are increasingly characterized by their superficiality and by a growing emphasis on obtaining of material achievements and social recognition.
This dynamic, in a precarious and socially complex work environment such as the current one, tends to generate a high dose of frustration and hopelessness, which contributes to the appearance of various mental health problems. A clear example is seen in social networks, where it is possible to be connected with hundreds of people, be distressed by the number of “likes” we receive and, yet, have no or few meaningful relationships. These facts contribute to a notable increase in problems such as unwanted loneliness, stress or frustration, factors clearly associated with the increase in mental health problems.
On the other hand, there has been a growing social awareness about the relevance of psychological well-being in our lives. This awareness has taken root especially among younger people, who recognize that common mental health problems, such as depression or anxiety disorders, can affect anyone. However, this same openness does not extend to serious disorders, such as schizophrenia, which continue to be strongly stigmatized and surrounded by misinformation, which perpetuates attitudes of rejection and discrimination towards those who suffer from them.
Joaquín Mateu Mollá: Doctor in Clinical Psychology. Director of the Master in Gerontology and Person-Centered Care at the International University of Valencia
From my point of view, they are not two exclusive options. I believe that we know more and more about mental disorders, the reason for their appearance and the way in which they are expressed, which allows us to identify them with greater precision and articulate more effective interventions. However, I also recognize that the society we inhabit faces great adaptive challenges that affect such important dimensions as the use of technologies, work life, family projects or academic training. It is not always easy to give a quick or efficient response to these challenges. The difficulty in building an autonomous life, the extremely complex access to housing, job insecurity, uncertainty about the future or the obstacles to building a family grip a large part of the population. population. And they can pave the way for hopelessness and anxiety or mood disorders.
Alfonso Arteaga Olleta. Doctor in Psychology. Researcher and professor at the Department of Health Sciences at the Public University of Navarra
Certain characteristics of the current moment contribute to people presenting higher levels of anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia or suicidal behaviors, among other mental health problems. A society that idealizes the concept of happiness associating it with immediate success, that promotes individualism and does not educate for tolerance of frustration and autonomy from childhood is a breeding ground for promoting them.
However, alarmism must be avoided. As happens with other issues that concern us (machismo, violence, addictive behaviors, etc.), when we focus on them they become more visible, suggesting a sudden and alarming increase. The numbers are increasing, but largely due to the fact that by investigating them, people feel freer to identify them and/or ask for help, which is very positive.
Carmen Rodríguez Blázquez and Maria João Forjaz. Researchers from the National Epidemiology Center of the Carlos III Health Institute
On World Mental Health Day we cannot forget the group of older people. We have scientific evidence that mental health in this sector of the population has become a public health challenge in recent years. In fact, in Spain, people over 75 years of age have the highest rates of suicide, as well as the consumption of psychotropic drugs.
The causes of mental illness are multifactorial, so that, in addition to the chronic diseases and disabilities that can appear in aging, exposure to personal, family and social risk factors is added. All of this places older people at risk of unwanted loneliness, inequalities and ageism.
Therefore, a call for a health, citizen and institutional response is necessary to turn the mental health of older people into a public health priority.
Article published in The Conversation.
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