They say they would like to disappear. Teenagers in Crisis

The anonymous Young Heads survey surveyed 184,000 primary and secondary school students aged 10 to 19. A total of 2,000 schools have joined the campaign. The analysis was coordinated by the Dbam o Moje Foundation. [email protected]For example”.

Why do young people not want to live?

The results are poignant and show an absolute sense of helplessness among the children. More than 80 percent of respondents can not cope with stressthe source of which is usually problems at school and lack of peer recognition. A major cause for concern is that young people cannot find a solution in a difficult situation. Many respondents said that in moments of crisis they would like to disappear. Some take it literally. According to the police, in 2022 there were more than 2,031 suicide attempts by young people. This is 140 percent more than two years earlier.

Every third child does not have the will to live, and every sixth mutilates himself. Nearly half struggle with an eating disorder—compulsive overeating or fasting. Respondents admitted that they are often subjected to violence. Most often of a verbal nature, in the form of offensive content about oneself. Nearly half of the respondents were victims of online hate. As evidenced by the data contained in the diagram, students who declared the gender “other” most often commit hate speech.

Martina Wojciechowska: “There is no shame in asking for help”

Undoubtedly, young Poles need the help of specialists. – We will not force Poland to suddenly increase the number of specialists and departments of child psychiatry. What we can really do now is to create a system of rapid response in case of a mental crisis in a child and prevention. It is important that we start talking openly about mental health, teach children that it is worth seeking help, including from specialists, that it is not a shame. Because the greatest courage is to stand on one’s own side,” Martina Wojciechowska, President of the UNAWEZA Foundation, commented on the report.

The study also showed that young people rarely seek professional help. Almost 70% of the respondents had never been to a psychologist either at school or outside of it.

Low self-esteem - young people do not like themselves

The results of the report revealed a sharply low self-esteem of children and young people. Almost 66 percent of students surveyed would like to have more self-respect. 59 percent of those surveyed sometimes feel worthless, and as many as 46 percent are people with extremely low self-esteem. Most of the respondents (up to 31%) admitted that they do not like themselves.

Young people feel lonely. More than 10 percent of students admitted that in their life there is not a single person who completely accepts and accepts them. On the other hand, for more than half of young people, the biggest support is family, followed by friends and teachers.

Children in a mental crisis are convinced that they mean nothing, can do nothing and are not important to anyone. The picture is complemented by the low level of social trust of young people, disbelief in the effectiveness of professional assistance or support. You can also see the scale of hatred and experienced violence from peers and domestic violence,” Joanna Flies, psychologist, teacher, expert of the Young Heads project, told the Unaveza Foundation.

The authors of the report hope that it will become the basis for further actions aimed at improving the mental health of children and adolescents.

Source: mlodeglowy.pl, unaweza.org