It's World mental health day, let's take stock

October 10 is World Mental Health Day. This event is promoted by the World Health Organization and has been internationally recognized since 1992. Its purpose is to raise public awareness about the importance of mental health, destigmatize mental illnesses, and ensure accessible psychological care for everyone, everywhere, through various campaigns and activities. It's a more pressing issue than ever, especially for young people.

Youth Mental Health in the European Union, the Data

According to the UNICEF report "Child and adolescent mental health - The State of Children in European Union 2024", 11.2 million young people under the age of 19 suffer from a mental health issue. Among those aged 15 to 19, 8% of those surveyed suffer from anxiety, and 4% from depression. Suicide is the second leading cause of death after road accidents. In 2020, a total of 931 young people died by suicide in the European Union. That's 18 lives lost every week. 

The Focus of International Organizations: Mental Health in Workplaces

The theme chosen by the World Health Organization for 2024 is mental health in workplaces and educational settings. This comes as no surprise. Burnout or burnout syndrome are now common terms in our daily lives, filled with pressure, overtime, career expectations, accumulated fatigue we can’t shake off, extreme work hours, and insufficient wages. Add to this discrimination, unemployment rates, and recent Italian government measures that deny the minimum wage and effectively facilitate blank resignations, and you get a complete picture that’s more relevant than ever.

And Eco-anxiety

UNICEF, for its part, focuses on Eco-anxiety, or climate anxiety, the concern related to climate change, environmental disasters, and pollution. Just watching the daily news is enough to feel it creeping inside us. According to an ISTAT report on environmental concerns, 58.8% of people aged 14 and over say they are worried about the environment and the future.

Is Psychological Care Accessible to Everyone? No, Let's Talk About It

That said—while reaffirming trust in psychotherapy and the ever-valid recommendation to talk to a professional as soon as one realizes they are having sad or self-harming thoughts that negatively impact their peace of mind and daily life—the fact is that mental health care, despite the initiatives, is not as accessible or guaranteed for everyone as it should be, and it is far from being a guaranteed right. Psychotherapy, in Italy and beyond, doesn't need more publicity or campaigns as much as it needs public funding. Funding that is constantly being cut from healthcare, preventing lower-income individuals and those with fewer resources in general from accessing the therapy they need. And a happy World Mental Health Day to you, too.