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May 2020-year-old Nikola from Olsztyn takes her own life. November 17. 2020-year-old Milena from Podkarpacie commits suicide. These are two deaths out of 13 in 107. Incomparably higher was the number of suicide attempts among teenagers. Experts from the helpline for children and young people have received several hundred such calls since the beginning of the pandemic.
- Since March 2020, the number of young people who need help has increased
- The most common problem is low mood or depression. Violence comes second
- In 2020, experts from the Empowering Children Foundation sent the police to a child whose health or life was at risk 747 times. Most of the reports concerned attempted suicides
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.
The pandemic is taking its toll on many fronts, hitting almost every area of our lives. The youngest citizens – children and adolescents – also suffered a strong blow. 44 percent teenagers have symptoms of depression, 3 thousand. young people wrote messages asking for help via a special form, and the police intervened twice a day on average to save the life of a child or teenager.
12 messages asking for help
The helpline for children and young people is ringing all the time. A is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Consultants are not able to directly answer the question of whether the demand for such calls has increased during the pandemic – there are always too few opportunities in relation to the number of young people calling for help. It is impossible to answer a phone call from every child in need.
However, there are data that show in black and white how much the situation of young Poles has deteriorated in the last year – this is primarily the number of messages sent via the form on the website of the Dajemy Dzieciom Force foundation.
– In April and May we had twice as many messages as before the lockdown – enumerates Michalina Kulczykowska, an expert in the helpline for children and youth. – By the end of 2020, this number increased by almost 3000, which means that last year, 12 people wrote to us. 525 young people.
Each of these submissions is an extensive life story sent to your email. Describing the home situation, experiences, emotions experienced every day, difficulties that are difficult to deal with without the support of an adult. The vast majority of the leitmotif was broadly understood mental health. It is mainly about depressed mood, but also depression.
– Young people often do not have contact with a specialist – says Kulczykowska. – Because the parents do not agree to it or because there are no available dates. But the problem often stems from the reluctance of the interested parties to seek this form of help. Our role here is to encourage them to do so.
- Psychiatrist: Mental illness in adolescents is often triggered by psychoactive drugs
Young people struggle with depression and violence
Research conducted by psychologists and students of the University of Lower Silesia shows that 44 percent. teenagers have symptoms of depression. It may result from many factors. The reasons may be, for example, isolation from peers, difficulties at school, complexes, rejection by the group, but also the home situation. In the latter two cases, the second most frequently reported problem may be involved – violence. According to the data of the Empowering Children Foundation, as many as 27 percent of them experienced it during the lockdown. young people. 9 percent of them had no one to turn to for help.
Children and adolescents are primarily victims of domestic, sexual and peer violence. The latter has largely moved to the virtual world in 2020. Online lessons have become a violent arena, from chat harassment to photo editing and video publishing. Young people began to be afraid of turning on the cameras so that they would not become internet memes.
The nature of reports of domestic violence also changed during the pandemic.
– We had definitely more talks with the “center” of events – says Michalina Kulczykowska. – Before the lockdown, the calling victims rang when it was safe to talk. From March onwards, the talks focused more on the violence happening here and now. For example, young people called from the bathroom saying that there was a brawl in the house. In such situations, we intervened by sending the police to the scene.
- Living with depression: be tolerant of what is out of your mind
Suicide attempts in young people. Numbers are rising
The Foundation intervenes when the life or health of young people is at risk. In 2020, there were more such situations than in previous years.
– We had 747 such interventions, compared to 519 in 2019. These numbers also include suicide attempts and they constitute the majority. In 2020, we had an average of two daily interventions. Fortunately, each of them was successful, so the young man was saved.
After a suicide attempt, the young person’s physical health is secured. Thereafter, she should have access to consultations with a child psychiatrist.
Not only teenagers, but also younger children try to take their lives. Even 6-year-olds may have thoughts of suicide.
– When it comes to reporting on the helpline, it is usually young people between the ages of 13 and 15. The youngest child who wanted to take his own life was 10 years old – Kulczykowska is enumerating.
Different reports differ not only in the age of the young people requiring intervention, but also in the reasons why they want to commit suicide.
– There are many reasons for attempting suicide and they overlap. It is impossible to indicate one particular one, but most of all it is a bad mental health condition, very often untreated, which leads to lower mental resistance. This, in turn, makes any other reason seem “appropriate” to end his life.
Children and adolescents are a sensitive group. For young people, even seemingly trivial events can be a tragedy in life. That is why it is crucial to provide them with support, not to underestimate their problems, but also to seek professional help when we see that a child or teenager cannot cope with problems.
Where to go for help?
- Psychologists and psychotherapists
- A helpline for children and teenagers. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week: 116 111
- Contact form
Also read:
- Suicidal thoughts – causes and help
- Can i be depressed? Self-assessment test
- When mental illness moves into our home, let’s learn how to live with it
- Psychotherapy in depression – what form of help should you choose? [WE EXPLAIN]
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