More and more people with suicidal thoughts are calling the 113 Suicide Prevention helpline. Especially for many young people, the corona crisis seems mentally tough. Emergency department Sabine Wittens sees this too: “Young people are being overlooked.”
While 300 people a day called the helpline before the corona crisis, there are now more than 400. It is striking that it is mainly young people who seek help. Of all contacts at helpline 113, almost half of the cases (46 percent) are young people between the ages of 10 and 19 years old.
First aid
Wittens also sees these figures in daily practice at the emergency department of the Elisabeth Two Cities hospital in Tilburg. Recently, she has seen many young patients who no longer want to live and who are struggling with psychological problems. “Then you should think, for example, of someone who takes an overdose of medication.”
Often the young people who end up in emergency care have been struggling with psychological problems for some time. According to Wittens, this group is too easily overlooked. “Young people in particular now have fewer social contacts than usual. There is no longer a lecture where someone asks ‘hey, why weren’t you there yesterday, shall we have a cup of tea?’ That’s all gone. There is no social safety net. “
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There is no social contact
At the helpline they see a lot of corona-related questions, says Renske Gilissen, lead researcher in suicide prevention at 113. “We see that there is more loneliness and that people have less distraction because they cannot go to school or work. more time to think. “
The corona crisis is an extra difficult period for young people, agrees Roy Otten, professor by special appointment of Vulnerable Youth and Risk Behavior at Radboud University. “Young people belong to a generation in need of social contact. It is the period in which friendships develop and that is difficult now.”
Extra vulnerable
There is a particular danger for young people who were already in a vulnerable situation, says Otten. “I think there is a lot of hidden suffering in that data because we see that the majority is getting through. But there is a small group that is already vulnerable for various reasons.”
According to the professor, it is often an accumulation of anxiety, stress, depressive feelings and the corona crisis is now on top of that. “Less distraction, fewer social contacts and more boredom; it can contribute to young people getting more and more down in the dumps.”
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Are you thinking about suicide or are you worried about someone else? Call 0800-0113 or chat via 113.nl.
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