Never before has mental health been so much in the spotlight. On the street, there is more social awareness than ever about the impact of emotional distress and in consultations and research laboratories, scientific knowledge on how to prevent or treat it is increasingly advanced. But mental disorders continue to rise. “The problem is that governments do not allocate enough budgets to the prevention and treatment of people with mental illnesses,” laments psychiatrist and researcher Danuta Wasserman, president of the World Psychiatric Association and professor of Psychiatry and Suicidology at the Karolinska Institute of Medicine. Sweden.
There are no magic recipes to prevent poor mental health, but there are indisputable guidelines that minimize the risk. For example, well-being, not going hungry or suffering from poverty, gender equality, drinking water and access to green spaces, Wasserman lists, while pointing out the stream of sunlight that enters through the immense windows of the Palace of Justice of Palma de Mallorca, at the foot of Can Pere Toni beach, where this interview takes place. The scientist, who prefers not to reveal her age, continues detailing the protective shields: physical exercise, good nutrition and sleep, peace, justice. “Wars are terrible for mental health. Not only of the people who are affected by the war, but also of the soldiers and the people who bomb,” recalls the researcher, who visits Palma de Mallorca to participate in a joint congress held by the Spanish Society of Dual Pathology and the World Association of Dual Pathology.
These are complex times and the figures for poor mental health around the globe speak for themselves. Wasserman, of Polish origin, but living in Sweden since the late 1960s, uses her mobile phone and looks for a PowerPoint that shows the situation: 13% of the world’s population lives with a mental health problem. Above all, anxiety and depression, but also developmental disorders, attention deficit and hyperactivity, bipolarity and, to a lesser extent, behavioral disorders, autism or schizophrenia. In minors, 8% of children and 14% of adolescents also suffer from some mental pathology.
Ask. What does that 13% mean? What do you think of that percentage?
Answer. I think it can be worse because mental health problems largely depend on economic and social factors. It’s not just our genes. For example, suicide depends on both genetic and environmental factors and the interaction between them: simplifying, it can be said that genetic factors are responsible for approximately 50% and environmental factors also for 50%. However, in others, the environment may even be more so and, especially, the poor economic situation may have a huge influence. It is expected that, after the pandemic, economic conditions will be improving, but not in all countries. At least in Sweden, we still have very high interest rates, which puts a burden on households and we don’t know when they will decrease or increase. We depend, to a large extent, on the global economy, on what happens in the United States, China, Russia, India… It doesn’t just depend on one country.
Q. In Catalonia, for example, a study revealed that suicide attempts increased by 50% after confinement.
R. It is not the same everywhere because suicide attempts increased among families with very poor relationships because interactions, bad interactions, increased. But in other families with good interactions, mental health improved because they spent more time with each other. We know that, in France, in some centers, attempts increased when children who suffered from bullying and where there were no programs antibullying. When they were home, they felt better. Therefore, it depends on the surrounding factors.
Q. And now, what is happening?
R. Among young girls, suicide attempts and other self-destructive behaviors are increasing and probably the reason is that they are very present on social networks and learn from each other instead of learning from their parents, their teachers or their healthy peers about how to resolve tensions or anxiety problems. They are influenced by self-destructive behaviors.
Q. Do you think the relationship with screens is toxic?
R. Yes. And the paradox is that it is, at the same time, toxic and beneficial. Because they can learn many positive things, but also those destructive behaviors. And, unfortunately, this always happens in children who have worse conditions at home. And not just economic ones, because they can come from both rich and poor families. What I mean is that they do not have enough contact with their parents, their grandparents or other relatives. They are more vulnerable because, for them, this [las redes sociales y las pantallas] It will be the only solution. And, in the end, they see nothing but these destructive solutions.
Q. What happens in the brain of a person who has suicidal ideations or attempts?
R. In these brains there is a lot of anxiety, a lot of ambivalence and a lot of anger. If you can lessen the anxiety and anger, if you can make that ambivalence less powerful, you can help that person. So, what is the most important thing to buy time with the suicidal person? Sit and maybe not talk, but be close. Maybe he doesn’t want you to touch him, but you can give him a blanket or give him a hot meal to comfort him. A lot of physiological mechanisms occur in the brain: you have a lot of anxiety, so there are many different signals, substances that circulate through the brain and push you to act or do something immediately. Therefore, responses from the environment are extremely important: do not leave the person alone, provide emotional and physical comfort, and try to listen.
Q. Can suicide rates be interpreted as a sign of the mental health of the general population? The Nordic countries often come out on top in happiness rankings, but at the same time, they have high suicide rates.
R. It’s a paradox, yes. Because we have good social systems, but right now we are very alone. There’s a very good American study, in New York State, where they have a very ambitious suicide prevention program and they were interviewing patients who had been suicidal and they asked: What helps you? And they said it was a space to be, to feel like they were welcome, that someone cared about them. They didn’t necessarily demand to talk or receive therapy, but rather that someone care about them. That’s why I say that the well-being factor influences, but also the loneliness factor. In countries where you have large families and extended families, even if you are very poor, you have low suicide rates because there are always people around you and they can take care of you in many other ways.
You can follow EL PAÍS Health and Wellbeing in Facebook, x and instagram.
