Article by Luca Pons – Journalist, Fanpage.it
The topic of mental health has also attracted political attention during the Covid-19 era. The pandemic has been challenging for many, and the number of difficult situations has increased. However, the reality is that even before 2020, approximately one in six people in the European Union suffered from mental health problems. And although in countries like Italy, measures in this regard are relatively limited (there is a limited-funded psychologist bonus and little else ), the cost of mental health problems to public coffers is significant: approximately 4% of European GDP, or €600 billion. For this reason, the EU has launched a research, aid, and funding program for a series of initiatives addressing citizens’ psychological well-being.
How many people have mental health problems in Europe?
In June 2023, the European Commission outlined the framework for a “comprehensive approach to mental health.” The thirty-page document described the European situation, with citizens experiencing “unprecedented crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and inflation,” along with the “triple global crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution”—which is increasing anxiety, especially among young people—and “radical changes in the labor market.”
Above all, they highlighted the “cost of inaction” on mental health, in a continent where 7% of its inhabitants had already suffered from depression before the pandemic. Between 2022 and 2023, 46% of Europeans experienced at least one emotional or psychosocial problem , and half of them did not seek help of any kind.