Fact: Help is available here
If you have suicidal thoughts, you can read more at 1177.se.
If you need someone to talk to, there are these helplines to contact:
BRIS for children – telephone 116 111
Friends – phone 08-545 519 90
The suicide line – telephone 90101
Mind’s Lifeline – chat on mind.se
BRIS for adults – telephone 0771-50 50 50
If you feel so bad that the situation feels unbearable or if you have plans to take your own life, you should seek treatment immediately at a psychiatric emergency department or call 112.
Source: Public Health Agency
Every second 15-year-old suffers from recurring mental problems and the most common cause of death among young people is suicide. Mental health has been part of the Swedish curriculum since the 1980s – but according to the School Inspectorate, the skills are rarely taught.
— Based on our data, we have seen that if you teach children about mental health at school, they feel better. Young people want to talk about mental health and want more knowledge about this, says Anja Romqvist, investigator at the Public Health Agency.
Severe deterioration
The Public Health Authority stated in 2018 that the mental health of children and young people has deteriorated significantly since the mid-1980s. Since then, the situation has worsened further.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), education and knowledge are crucial to countering mental illness in young people. In the neighboring Nordic countries, investments in school education have begun, but in Sweden the overall approach is lacking. Here, only a few schools teach the subject.
“We see clear differences between schools in how well they work with prevention and promotion factors,” says Torun Rudin, chief of staff at the School Inspectorate.
— To a large extent, they teach about what the students can do themselves. It can become problematic if questions about dealing with a stressful school situation are placed mainly on the students, rather than systematically working with planning and prevention at the school.
“Great grief”
The psychologist Siri Helle, together with a number of non-profit associations, has started the campaign “Mental health on the schedule” with the aim of teaching about mental illness in school. Organizations such as Bris, Mind, Unicef and Suicide Zero are behind the campaign.
“It is a great sadness in the teaching profession that we have so many students, especially girls, who feel so bad,” says Johanna Jaara Åstrand, president of Sweden’s teachers.
The School Inspectorate’s review shows that there are few Swedish schools that actually schedule and give students knowledge about how mental illness can be prevented and managed.
— A reform shift is required for Swedish school policy, where both teachers and students are given the opportunity to be and do their best. It is necessary for us to have a sustainable school situation, which is not the case today, says Johanna Jaara Åstrand.
Johanna Jaara Åstrand, chairman of Sweden’s Teachers. Archive image. National strategy
The government writes in the Tidö agreement that it wants to prioritize mental health and work with suicide prevention among young people, as part of public health work.
A national strategy for mental health and suicide prevention must be reported on September 1 this year and submitted by the School Inspectorate and 25 other Swedish authorities that have worked together with the proposal.
“Cooperation between the school, healthcare and social services needs to be improved. But above all, accessibility needs to increase. Having to wait for help for too long can mean that small problems grow into major mental problems,” writes Education Minister Lotta Edholm (L) in a comment to TT.
Education Minister Lotta Edholm (L) thinks it is worrying that more and more young people are feeling unwell. Archive image.