Mental health is increasingly recognised as a fundamental and central pillar of society. Unequal access to support, and the impact of broader social and economic changes are actively contributing to rising levels of anxiety and depression, making it an issue that touches us all. To shed light on these trends, Eurofound has published a new report, Mental health: Risk groups, trends, services and policies, which looks at who is most at risk, how barriers to support persist, and what policy responses are emerging. In this blog, Hans Dubois, Senior Research Manager at Eurofound’s Social Policies unit and lead author of the report, shares insights from the research. With a background spanning housing, healthcare, social benefits and quality of life, Hans brings both depth and breadth to the discussion.

Europe Needs to Act

Hans Dubois, Senior Research Manager, Eurofound

Anyone can face poor mental health. The surge in poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic made crystal clear that people’s mental health is highly context-dependent. Just as during the Great Recession earlier this century, loss of jobs and income suddenly put people at risk of poor mental health. Social isolation due to measures to prevent the virus from spreading and deteriorating working conditions (especially for care workers) added to that. Other factors causing poor mental health remained at similar levels during the pandemic as they were before, with the same devastating impact. They include discrimination and exclusion of population groups, for instance based on their gender, sexual orientation, disability or migration background.

The message is clear: poor mental health can for an important part be prevented by improving living and working conditions, enhancing social and employment inclusion, and stopping discrimination.

On the upside, the pandemic put mental health in the spotlight. Stigma decreased, with more people turning to mental healthcare services. Furthermore, overall, mental healthcare entitlements and service capacity continued to improve. However, these entitlements are often void. Due to stigma, lack of understanding or inaccessibility of information, people are often refrained from accessing support. Those who do seek support face waiting lists amidst staffing shortages. Available support further often does not meet needs. Nearly half (46%) of those experiencing emotional or psychosocial problems rate mental healthcare service quality at 4 or lower, on a scale from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent).

Discrimination of people who experience, or have experienced, poor mental health remains rampant. For instance, they can face reduced access to life or health insurances and social exclusion by colleagues. These prospects put them at greater risk of worsening mental health and discourage support seeking for those in need. Studies frequently pin-point people who have experienced poor mental health in the past as being at higher risk of poor mental health, failing to mention they face discrimination. By doing this, these studies risk nourishing discrimination, contributing to a self-fulfilling prophecy: being seen at higher risk of poor mental health, people who have had poor mental health in the past are more likely to face discrimination, which in turn negatively impacts their mental health.

Again, the message is clear. Deterioration of mental health can be prevented by addressing discrimination of people who have, or have had, poor mental health.

The momentum for mental health triggered by the pandemic situation decreased. At the same time, risk factors such as discrimination of certain population groups seem on the increase. Certain risk factors related to digitalisation of work and life (e.g. problematic social media usage), increasing size of workforces with larger mental health challenges (e.g. care), and concerns about housing, the cost of living, the natural environment and armed conflicts have increased. Some mental health indicators have shown negative developments. Mental health seemed to have worsened especially among young women. Older age groups face a heightened risk of poor mental health, a challenge that is further intensified by Europe’s ageing population. After decades of decreases, suicide death rates in the EU have increased, especially among women under 20 and men over 85.

These developments take place in a period of relative prosperity, with lowest unemployment rates in decades. The EU may be ill-prepared for when the next crisis kicks-in. Europe needs to strengthen resilience by improving living and working conditions, and enhanced employment and social inclusion. It needs to demonstrate this longer-run vision that Member State governments may lack. By doing so, it will improve its populations’ mental health, and prevent the monetary and non-monetary costs, to the individual and to society, that come with poor mental health.

You can read the full Eurofound report on their website