Four out of ten people in Spain assess the state of their mental health negatively
SALUD MENTAL ESPAÑA and the Fundación Mutua Madrileña present the first report that analyzes the state of mental health in our country. The study includes both the opinion of the general population on this issue, as well as those who have had mental health problems, their families and health professionals.
Four out of ten people in Spain (39.3%) assess their current mental health negatively. This is one of the conclusions of the report “The situation of mental health in Spain”, Prepared by the SALUD MENTAL ESPAÑA Confederation and the Mutua Madrileña Foundation. The study was carried out in 2022 with the participation of more than 2,000 people, both from the general population and those who have or have had mental health problems, as well as health professionals.
The main results of the report were presented at a press conference by Nel González Zapicopresident of SALUD MENTAL ESPAÑA and Lorenzo Cooklin, General Director of the Mutua Madrileña Foundation.
Another of the conclusions is that 74.7% of the population in Spain believes that in recent years the mental health of the population has worsened, and the three reasons most cited as causes of this worsening are: economic difficulties (91, 4%), uncertainty about the future (89.0%) and the pressure, demands and stress of everyday life (88.8%), followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the feeling that we live in an increasingly individualistic and highly competitive society.
The results of this report, carried out by the companies Twiga and 40dB, provide a snapshot of the mental health state of the Spanish population today and their perceptions of how these problems are addressed in our country, as well as the way in which which could be improved. An issue, that of mental health, to which Spanish men and women give an importance of 4.5 out of 5 regarding their general well-being.
The report “The situation of mental health in Spain” is an exhaustive investigation with a mixed, qualitative and quantitative methodological approachcarried out sequentially in order to base the questionnaire answered by the general population on those aspects that were decisive for people with a mental health problem, their families and the health professionals who participated in the qualitative part through discussion groups.
The approach and the size of the sample make this study the largest of those carried out to date in the field of mental health in Spain.
Profile of the person with poor mental health
One part of the report assesses the profile and situation of people with their own experience of mental health problems (called PEP) and compares it with the general population. This group is made up 22.8% of the total sample and it included both people with a medical diagnosis in this regard, as well as those who in the questionnaire self-assessed their mental health as bad and very bad.
Regarding people who have had a diagnosis of a mental health problem, this usually occurs in youth; Specifically, the average age of those who have suffered is 26 years.
Family problems and relationships (36.3%) and self-demand in the professional or academic spheres (32.4%) are the two causes most indicated by PEPs as triggers for the appearance of mental health problems.
Four out of ten people in Spain (42.1%) have suffered from depression throughout their lives; a somewhat higher percentage, 47.6%, have experienced anxiety or panic attacks and 36.9%, prolonged anxiety over time.
As the report reveals, 14.5% of the population have had suicidal ideas or have attempted suicide. This occurs to a greater extent among women (17%) than among men (11.7%). The same happens in the case of those who have come to harm themselves (6.4% of men compared to 11.3% of women). By age, suicidal ideas or attempts (31.8%) and self-harm (30.7%) occur to a greater degree in the group of young people between 18 and 24 years of age.
Among people diagnosed with a mental health problem, mMore than half (58.5%) have felt social rejection for it at some point in their life by their environment. In addition, 55% have experienced discrimination at some point, with employment being the most notable area in which it occurred. 11%, according to the study, have not confided their problem to anyone.
Mental health and gender
The lack of a gender perspective is one of the shortcomings that has been detected when thinking about mental health, despite the fact that the determining factors and risk factors for developing a mental health problem affect women more than men. men, as demonstrated by the results of the study.
For example, men consider the current state of their mental health better than what women estimate. Thus, 68.5% of the first they give values 4 and 5, where 5 means ‘very good’, compared to 53.7% of women.
Women report greater concern about financial issues (not being able to pay bills, rent, or mortgage), and 13.4% of women would like to go to therapy, but do not because they cannot afford it, compared to 4.1% of men.
And 61.3% of people who have suffered mental health problems are women, compared to 38.3% of men. Women are more likely to consume psychotropic drugs than men.
Consumption of psychotropic drugs and access to medical care
In terms of therapies, the study reveals that 57.1% of the treatments are based on the prescription of drugs, followed by psychotherapy (47.6%) and participation in social support programs (27.4%).
The report also reflects that 18.9% of the population over the age of 18 consume psychoactive drugs and 73% of them do so daily. The most used are anxiolytics (61.9%) and antidepressants (47.2%). The Primary Care doctor is the one who most commonly prescribes them (55.1%), followed by the psychiatrist (35.2%).
Despite the higher incidence of disorders of this type in women and the greater tendency to consume psychotropic drugs, they do not go to the psychiatrist more often than men. The probability of attending is the same for both sexes.
Regarding medical care, he 26.2% of people currently go to a mental health specialist (20.8% to a Psychology consultation and 17.6% to a Psychiatry consultation). It should be explained that the sum of these last two percentages exceeds the initial 26.2%, given that in the report it was a multiple-choice question and some people surveyed receive care from both specialties.
For more than half of the population, 57.3%, Seeing a mental health professional is financially inaccessible.
Most vulnerable groups
The most vulnerable population groups and prone to experiencing mental health problems are those made up of youths (18-34 years old), with a more pronounced effect in the younger segment (18-24), the womenor the people of the LGBT collective.
the young They find the causes of their mental health problems and their emotional discomfort in self-demand, pressure and difficulty in reaching goals and objectives, insecurity and uncertainty about the future, and difficulty managing unpleasant emotions.
Young people between the ages of 18 and 24 are the ones who show a lower subjective perception regarding the state of their mental health. Likewise, as mentioned above, they are the ones that refer, in a greater proportion, to suicidal ideation or attempt.
People of low and medium-low socioeconomic level go to public health to a greater extent only among the different types of professionals, while they are the ones who are less satisfied with their economic situation (63.9%) and with their lives employment (59.7%), and express greater concern about not being able to pay their bills (56.6%). But they also express less satisfaction with their health (31.1%) and with their family life (26.7%).
Finally, being a person belonging to the LGBT collective the probability of having their own experience in mental health increases. This group reports to a greater extent having suffered depression (55.4%), prolonged anxiety (48.2%), suicidal ideation or attempt (32.1%), and self-harm (19.5%). Likewise, and as was the case with women, the LGBT collective is more likely to consume psychotropic drugs.
Involuntary income and increased investment: a vision of human rights
The report reflects that, in the field of mental health care, there are habitually rights violations.
60.1% of people with a mental health problem claim to have been admitted to a hospital involuntarily, 40.3% say that they received little or no clear, sufficient and understandable information about their disorder, 46.3% affirm that they received little or no sufficient information about the side effects of the medication and 48.1% state that they received little or no information about all alternative treatments.
The general population considers that not enough resources are allocated to mental health care and advocates both health and social measures to help people with a mental health problem.
Among them, they point out, as a priority, increasing the number of mental health professionals (67.8%), ensuring continuity of treatment with the same professional throughout the process (48.7%) and the existence of more community mental health centers (46.4%).
At the social level, 58% demand support actions to prevent work stress and bullying situations; 51.3% promote community initiatives to prevent loneliness and foster resilience, and 48% appeal to the inclusion of specific prevention and awareness programs in the educational field.