The mental health of young people in Romania was “scanned” by specialists in the field, and the X-ray results are not at all optimistic. Romanian children are anxious, depressed, have behavioral problems, suffer from school phobias and eating disorders. And the culprits are us, the adults: parents, relatives, teachers, educators, teachers. Society itself made them sick. What would be done? The effort should come from all of us.
Romanian children and young people, anxious and depressed. Photo source: archive
The mental health of young people in Romania was “scanned” by specialists in the field, and the X-ray results are not at all optimistic. Romanian children are anxious, depressed, have behavioral problems, suffer from school phobias and eating disorders. And the culprits are us, the adults: parents, relatives, teachers, educators, teachers. Society itself made them sick. What would be done? The effort should come from all of us.
The studies of recent years, the statistics, but also the specialists in the field say it, who raise a big alarm signal: Romanian children need a psychologist from an ever younger age. It is also the conclusion of the latest Being report, which captures the overall picture of the mental health of young people here, but also in 12 other countries of the world.
As regards the treatment of the mental health of Romanians, we are experiencing major shortcomings, which cannot be solved overnight and in no case without the involvement of the authorities and society.
Mental disorders have increased the death rate among children
According to the specialists who compiled the report for Romania, the prevalence of mental disorders, including depression and anxiety, is extremely high, while access to mental health services is limited. Furthermore, existing data show that the most prevalent mental disorders diagnosed in our country include conduct disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety disorders, depressive episodes, attachment disorders, school phobia, and anxiety disorders. food. Depressive episodes are more common among young people over the age of 15, and girls are more likely than boys to report mental health problems. Here are just two of the most alarming conclusions of the report, with extremely serious consequences: all these problems inevitably lead to deaths, the number of which has increased constantly, especially in the period 2020-2021.
According to the research, the most vulnerable young people are Roma teenagers, those in foster care or institutionalized, but also children with parents who work abroad. As well as those who are part of disadvantaged, poor backgrounds, with a high unemployment rate, who have no education or schooling.
What should be done for the happiness, health and well-being of our children? Three specialists in the field gathered around the table and dissected the subject in a televised show. Simona Baciu, president and founder of InIm Institute and Transylvania College, one of the initiators of the program in Romania, psychologist Mihai Copăceanu and Nadia Tătaru, president of the Smart Parents association returned to the problem and proposed several solutions.
Romanian children suffer from loneliness
“I am an educator. My role is very clearly defined as a teacher, school director. The education of this century has taught us that we must put the child in the middle and we, as adults, are responsible. And then the question is: ok, the baby is in the middle, but who is watching it? Well, we look like adults. And then we started programs to support the emotional health of teachers, to help them teach with more enthusiasm, with more love” said Simona Baciu, president and founder of InIm Institute and Transylvania College in the “Rethink Romania” show from TVR Cultural. For his power together works wonders, consider this. “The Being project is being carried out in parallel in 13 countries, Romania being the only country in Europe that participated. Our research focused on a number of approximately 3.38 million young people between the ages of 10 and 24. More precisely, 17% of Romania’s population. Generally speaking, the world’s population is facing a major crisis that has already begun and which is a worldwide wake-up call, namely loneliness. In this context of loneliness that we face, our children also feel alone. Although we have all kinds of messages from them, we do not hear them. Loneliness is worse than obesity. Moreover, one day of loneliness is equivalent to 15 cigarettes smoked daily”
It is the reason why the institution has created programs through which young people feel that they belong to a community.
“Creating a sense of belonging in positive environments. It is one of our primary needs as human beings. And we tried to work with groups of young people to find out the needs they face. And I discovered that we have a lot of work to do,” recognize Simona Baciu.
Young people in Romania, heavy consumers of alcohol and drugs
“There are teachers who say I became a physics teacher just to teach physics, not to be the students’ psychologist”, the psychologist Mihai Copăceanu also continues the idea. Which is totally wrong because the teacher should get down from the chair in the middle of the children, know their problems, understand them and help them overcome them. The psychologist points out another aspect: alcohol consumption among teenagers, even children, and the role played by the family which often encourages this habit. Then, let’s not forget drug use among minors at ever younger ages. “Why doesn’t the school janitor get involved, in addition to the family and teachers?”, asks the psychologist. “We get a lot of information about what the children are doing from the goalkeeper. But I saw complicit doormen who allowed students to enter with champagne in school. It’s his birthday, why not come in?”
Solutions: a unitary approach
So how can we help young people achieve the well-being, the happiness they actually need and deserve? Nadia Tătaru, the president of the “Smart Parents” Association, believes that raising a child is not easy at all. Especially a happy child. Therefore, not only the biological parents should be involved in the well-being of the little ones.
“To raise a child, you don’t need only two parents, you need a whole village, you need the parents at home – their first educators – you need the educators at kindergarten, school, who are the parents at school and more we need many reliable adults: school staff, teachers, non-teaching and auxiliary staff. Then we have neighbors, community members, the internet and society itself.” The responsibility rests on everyone’s shoulders. “It is important that parents and teachers get more involved. Have a common goal. We are together for nothing if one pulls and the other pulls.”
Romanian children also suffer from bullying, which many do not understand, do not recognize, do not know how to sanction. “We throw the cat away for nothing. The school says it’s the family’s problem, the child is not educated at home, the family says that’s all I could do… let the school continue to educate him. This is not how the situation is resolved. A unified approach is needed.”
The specialists’ conclusion is only one: Romanian children are profoundly unhappy, and we have all contributed to this, unfortunately. Through ignorance, lack of involvement, lack of responsibility, negligence. What would be done? Let’s wake up to reality, open our eyes wide, have the courage to accept the problem and join forces to solve it.
In Romania, the research was carried out by Being Romania, an initiative that brought together a number of renowned experts, organizations and stakeholders in the field of mental health, with the aim of identifying the specific needs and opportunities of young people between the ages of 10 and 24 . The research took place under the auspices of the Being Romania Consortium, led by the Transylvania College Foundation and InIm Institute, and the member organizations are Babeș-Bolyai University, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, the Positive Psychotherapy Association, Evo Career, the Youth Federation Cluj, Global Development and Data Lab. Experts Oana Moșoiu and Alina Cosma are also part of the Being Romania Consortium, whose contribution was essential for the research.
