We are not well: 7 out of 10 Spaniards have ever had symptoms of anxiety

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Mental health is feeling that we have enough capabilities to be able to successfully solve the situations of our day to day." This is the definition made by the World Health Organization (WHO) and reminded by psychologist Silvia Álava, with whom we spoke to elucidate what is happening to us so that mental health worries Spaniards, on a scale of 0 to 10, a 6.8. A proportion that rises to 7.1 if we look at the responses of women and, attention, to 7.8 when it is young people aged 18 to 29 who look inside.

What is happening for these figures to be given? That we are aware that our emotional health does not go through an optimal state at this time, because we value it at 6.7 out of 10. And again it is the data of young people the most worrying: they give their mental health only a pass (5.9).

More than 7 out of 10 Spaniards have had symptoms of anxiety

Among women the figure rises to 77.2% and among people aged 30 to 44, to 81.3%

A problem among the youngest

"We are seeing an increase in problems of mood disorder and even suicidal ideation in this age group," says Silvia Álava, who we asked about possible causes. He warns cautiously that "the first thing we have to know is that a detailed analysis of each case is always necessary, because it is about making a kind of tailor-made suit, to see exactly what is happening to each person and to elaborate a correct functional analysis".

Having made this point, and considering the figures "at the macro level", the expert returns to the definition made by the WHO of mental health: sufficient capacities to successfully solve the situations of our day to day. "And what is happening to us?" he continues. "That these situations have increased in difficulty: two years of pandemic that have taken their toll on an emotional level, inflation, insecurity, instability ... Young people must be able to feel that they have these capabilities in a very difficult environment, seeing that many times they do not get the job they would like or that the salary does not reach them. And that can be very frustrating."

Silvia Álava goes a step further and wonders if we have given them, if someone has given us, those skills, those necessary tools to face the day to day: "Have they really ever taught us, for example, what emotions we are feeling? Why do I feel at a certain moment how I feel? How can I handle all this that is happening to me? That is why it is so important to implement social-emotional education programs in schools."

Anxiety progression

Returning to the data, the survey throws other alarming figures, such as that more than 7 out of 10 people have ever had symptoms of anxiety – women 77.2%; men 65.6% – and young people aged 18 to 29 77.4%, and those aged 30 to 44, 81.3%. The symptom that is most identified with anxiety is nervousness, which affects 78% of those who claim to have suffered from it.

78% have ever suffered from nervousness, one of the symptoms of anxiety

53.5%, increased heart rate; 47.4 per cent tiredness; 46.5%, rapid breathing

What causes so many of us to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown? The family arises first (named by 54.1%). Does it affect social media use? Yes for every 7 out of 10 people, and for more than 8 if we talk about young people.

Visits to the psychologist

To alleviate this, 34.8% of respondents have gone to the psychologist on occasion for help. Of these, 6 out of 10 do so at least once a month. While 71.3% of those interviewed believe that consulting it is very useful or quite useful, the grade given to them by those who have done so drops to 6.5 out of 10.

Young people from 18 to 29 years old are the ones who most go to the psychologist

34.8% of the population has gone to the guna once in their lives; 63.8%, never

Of course, a taboo has been broken and only 20.3% believe that going to the psychologist could be a stigma. What's more, 6 out of 10 would tell their superiors. But, for that to be a reality, Social Security should increase resources for psychological assistance according to 92%.

* Population: 18 years and older. Scope: Spain. Information collection technique: through the Sigma Dos by Trust Survey panel. Mixed telephone (CATI)/online (CAWI)/RRSS methodology. Questionnaire: structured. Field date: January 12 to 13, 2023. Sample: 1,140 interviews. The sample allows working with a margin of error of +3% for global data, with a confidence level of 95% and the most unfavorable case of dictomic variables with two equally probable categories (p = q = 0.5).

Don't be noticed

Loola Perez

It is clear that social visibility on mental health problems has increased in the wake of the pandemic. We are not made to be able to do everything and we are not made to be able to do it alone. Wanting is not always power and attitude is not enough to relieve pain. We dehumanize ourselves every time we medicate our suffering to make it compatible with the rhythms of the market or to fit into that cool image that social networks sell us.

It's not that we want to be well, it's that we don't want it to be noticed that we've hit rock bottom. But being well is not a personal decision. As Eva Illouz and Edgar Cabanas explain in their book 'Happycracia' (Paidós, 2019), practicing optimism by avoiding all social context will not make anyone happier.

The keys are not in self-help books or motivational talks: success and mental health do not fit into the magic recipe of the guru on duty. What can inspire us should never replace professional care. Why do many choose to follow the advice and lies of this culture of happiness when they need the care of professionals?

Going to therapy has become a privilege. The collapse of mental health services in the public system has encouraged not only the rise of the private sector, but also the search for more accessible, credulous and immediate solutions. Investment in prevention and mental health promotion is not only low, but also poor. The biomedical model is insufficient.

I do not believe that those who trust in the culture of happiness do so simply for economic reasons or for a unanimous rejection of medicalization. Stigma and self-stigma regarding disorders remains the order of the day. Although the taboo has begun to be broken, we must continue to insist: no discomfort is solved by putting a gag on it or under the moral guidelines of toxic positivism.

• lifestyle
• Mental health

According to The Trust Project criteria

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