Loneliness, stress and depression are the lot of many people during this coronavirus crisis.

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Gabrielle CEZARD / SIPA

The mental health of the French worries the government, in the midst of a health and economic crisis for more than a year.

This Tuesday he is launching a general public campaign to encourage us to "talk" about our psychological state, and to remind the existence of help by telephone and Internet, too little known.

"Talking about it is already being treated", ensures this campaign, organized by Public Health France and the Ministry of Health, to stress that it is "essential" to detect psychological and psychiatric disorders "in order to allow an adapted load ”.

"Promoting the identification of the main symptoms"

Present on the Internet and on the radio with three video sequences, it will be completed "by a spot broadcast on television" and online video "from April 20," said Public Health France in a press release.

"The objective of the campaign is to help identify the main symptoms of anxiety (irritability, feeling of panic) and depression (sadness, loss of interest, energy) as well as sleep problems (often associated with anxiety states and depressive) through scenes of everyday life, ”explains the health agency.

A still taboo subject

"Although the issue of mental health has emerged a lot in recent months due to the health crisis, this subject is still unknown and taboo for many French people", she notes.

"Without trivialization or excessive dramatization of the subject", with a "benevolent" tone, the campaign encourages "to talk to those around you or to your health professional (...) as soon as these symptoms are intense, take hold over time and prevent us from carrying out our activities of daily living ”.

A third of French people who are anxious or depressed

It also recalls the existence of the toll-free number 0 800 130 000 (created by the government to answer all questions related to the Covid, but only 17% of those questioned know that it gives access to a psychological support service) and the Psycom.org site, “information site offering reliable, accessible and independent information (…) on mental health and psychological disorders as well as specific content on mental health and COVID-19”.

31% of French people report anxious or depressive states, a high level that has persisted for several months, according to the last and 21st wave of the survey that Public Health France has been carrying out regularly for a year.

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