Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, a suicidal depressive wave has reached France. “An anxiety-provoking climate set in and this fear of ‘prowling death’ only began to subside in January 2021, with the launch of the vaccination campaign.”said psychiatrist Michel Debout, who presented this Thursday the results of a long investigation conducted by Ifop for the Jean-Jaurès Foundation. Conducted in May 2022, the study analyzed samples of 1,000 people in France and five other European countries (Germany, Spain, Poland, Ireland, Sweden).
According to the results of this study, 40% of French people feel more depressed since the arrival of Covid-19 than before, on a par with the Spaniards. The proportion is lower than in Germany (44%), Poland (55%) and Ireland 53%), and higher than in Sweden (38%). But in France, this figure rises to 51% among women under 35, a proportion which confirms that the prevalence of depression is notably higher among women and among young people.
22% of acting out in 2016 compared to 30% in 2022
Along with Spain, France is the country where the incidence of suicidal thoughts – people have already seriously thought about committing suicide at least once in their life, regardless of when they had this thought – is the lowest. , even if the share remains 20%, i.e. one in five people who have considered suicide.
#Covid19: 40% of are more depressed
since the start of the health crisis.What are the effects of the restrictions on the mental health of Europeans?
The Foundation and the @FEPS_Europe surveyed them with @IfopOpinion : https://t.co/VAiDNFjPfUpic.twitter.com/WySD5oBCFw
— Jean-Jaures Foundation (@j_jaures) July 7, 2022
What about passing the act? If France is in the European average with regard to depressive states, it is in the lead for the risk of suicide. The number of acting out has significantly increased since 2016. According to the study by the Jan-Jaurès Foundation, in 2016, 22% of people questioned had taken action. In 2022, they are 30%the highest rate in Europe with Poland.
“When 6% of the French population (which represents 3.5 million people) has already attempted suicide compared to 3% 20 years ago, it is very worrying and this should challenge the public authorities.“, says Michel Debout, psychiatrist at the origin of the study.
Precariousness and isolation
This emergence of suicidal and depressive thoughts is mainly due to “social precariousness, poverty experienced at this age and forced isolation“, according to the psychiatrist’s study. And according to the psychiatrist, the youth were also particularly affected. “It is the youth who have been isolated, who could no longer see their loved ones, points out the psychiatrist. And in addition, we pointed them out when they were having parties, when young people need to find themselveshe told franceinfo. It is an almost vital need.“
Faced with this increase in mental health problems, the study noted that only 16% of French people had consulted a psychiatrist or psychologist, compared to 25% of Poles, 20% of Germans, Spaniards and Irish and 19% of Swedes. “The misery of French psychiatry, the withdrawal of associative involvement, the need to help young people, the unemployed and those who encounter a degraded work situation are the main orientations which will have to allow, in the years to come, improve mental health in France”concludes the psychiatrist.
Source :
- Covid-19: alert on the mental health of French and Europeans, Jean-Jaurès Foundation, July 7, 2022
Read also:
- 3114, the national suicide prevention number
- Do I need to see a psychiatrist?
- Covid-19: cases of depression and anxiety increased by 25%
