The pandemic has sensitized schools in emotional education

• Special The 100 best schools

As in a pressure cooker, each and every one of the restrictions that the little ones and adolescents have been assuming in their lives during the pandemic, added to their fear, uncertainty, stress and pain due to the loss of relatives with Covid. blow up your mental health.

, eating behavior and suicidal thoughts and attempts have skyrocketed.

According to data from the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP), in 2020, 14 children under 15 years of age committed suicide in Spain, twice as many as the previous year.

As for young people between 15 and 29 years old,

, behind malignant tumors.

Hence, his demand for the Government to develop a national plan for the prevention of suicide that has sufficient professional resources in both the health and educational fields.

Aware of this reality, more and more schools are adopting programs aimed at protecting and covering the emotional health of their students.

"

and we try to eliminate the fear of expressing them", explains Maricruz Lagar, director of the SEK International Schools.

Upon detecting a higher rate of students with anxiety, eating disorders and negative ideas of life, as Lagar says, "we decided to create a health and well-being department with the support of the psychology and medicine service" through which, for For example, "one day a week, psychologists have mindfulness sessions with different groups of students with the aim of channeling tensions, individual interviews are carried out, guidelines are offered to adapt to the new situation...".

The pandemic has been key to increasing interest in emotional education.

In fact,

, those that have understood the importance of having tools that help manage emotions in the face of endless complex circumstances.

Faced with measures such as social distancing, confinement, mobility restrictions, the continued use of masks, the dramatic situation of a loved one who dies and from whom they have not even been able to say goodbye... "It is necessary to take out what is inside , communicate, cry, share and generate empathy [...]

like through stories or dialogues, we have virtual coffees with parents to follow up on needs, we have distributed help boxes around the school so that they can write about their problem or that of a friend and for us to get started, we organize fun outings with families such as astronomical observations, etc.", points out the expert.

All these activities and the commitment to the emotional care of students in schools is "fundamental", says Rafael Tabares, psychiatrist and commissioner of the Generalitat Valenciana for mental health.

"It is important that they are helped and taught at all stages of education so that they acquire tools for managing aggressive attitudes, depressive symptoms, stress or suicidal ideas."

Along the same lines, the AEP paediatricians argue that, since children are compulsory in school up to the age of 16,

and young people, cushioning many situations of stress and anxiety in this population".

The statistics tell it without hesitation.

Before the pandemic, in Spain, around 30% of minors had presented suicidal ideation at some point, 10% had attempted it and 2% had even required emergency health care.

However, with the arrival of Covid-19, the Anar Foundation, dedicated to children and adolescents at risk, claims to have answered 145% more calls from children and adolescents with suicidal thoughts or attempts and 180% more self-harm compared to the previous two years.

In addition, as revealed in the

, anxiety diagnoses among young people increased by 280% in our country, low self-esteem by 212% and cases of depression by almost 88%.

registered an increase of 826% at the end of the confinement and compared to the previous year.

A photograph that also supports the scientific literature, since the renowned magazine 'JAMA Pediatrics' published an analysis in which it was found that depressive and anxiety symptoms doubled during the pandemic in children and adolescents, one in four being minors those affected by these symptoms.

In this same heading, a Canadian study was also reflected in which the 10% increase in requests for mental health consultations for the child and adolescent population was confirmed.

On the couches of psychology professionals in Spain,

, eating and sleeping disorders, nightmares, self-esteem problems, anxiety symptoms, everything that has to do with with consumption and addictions to substances...", as pointed out by Mercedes Bermejo, coordinator of the Clinical section of the Official College of Psychologists of Madrid.

adolescent development

According to a Unicef ​​survey carried out at the end of 2020, 27% of young people (between 13 and 29 years old) claimed to feel anxiety and 15% depression in the last seven days.

Along the same lines, a

had noted changes in the emotional state and behavior of their children, concentration problems, disinterest, irritability, restlessness, agitation, nervousness, feelings of loneliness and worry.

With this scenario, the magazine 'The Lancet' published an opinion article in which they explained that adolescents could be more susceptible to social distancing generated by Covid, since "they

.

They are especially vulnerable because they are in a time of great change and in which interaction with peers is a vital aspect of brain development, mental health and sense of self.

During these years (12 to 18),

according to experiences, experiences and social relationships.

In this way, the adolescent acquires strategies, reasoning, social skills, emotional skills, conflict resolution, critical thinking, planning, empathy, motivation...

For this reason, the work of schools in emotional education is so relevant to prevent psychological difficulties from becoming chronic.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

• schools

• Education

• Psychology

EducationThe Government suppresses the numerical qualifications of the Primary evaluation records

EducationHow to choose a school: ranking of the best schools in Spain in 2022

The 100 best schools in SpainGuide to choose a good school in times of legislative changes

See links of interest

• War Ukraine Russia

• best colleges

• Last News

• Documentary Putin

• Topics

• Work calendar 2022

• Red Star - Real Madrid

• Urbas Fuenlabrada - Barca

• Bitci Baskonia - Anadolu Efes Istanbul

• Liverpool - International

• Bayern Munich - Salzburg, live