What’s going on around Ireland

Naturally, the thing that matters to you most is your own problem. But it might help you to understand a little about the big picture going on across the country.

Studies show that the number one health issue for young people is their mental health: "70% of the health problems of young people and most of the mortality is due to mental and substance use disorders". 1

Your teenage years are a time when you’re particularly vulnerable.2 A number of recent studies have found that three-quarters of adults with a history of mental illness had clear signs of being in crisis when they were 18 years old and half of them were in crisis at 15 years old. 3 In other words, to avoid bigger problems later, sort out the issues at the start.

The best estimates we have suggest that in Ireland, at any given time, 20% of adolescents and young adults experience serious emotional distress. 4 Of these, only a tiny minority are receiving professional or voluntary help. You don’t have to keep it to yourself!

The evidence shows that early action and help is overwhelmingly more effective than leaving problems to grow. 5

It’s really important to act. Suicide is now the leading cause of death in young men, aged 15-24 in Ireland. A quarter of all deaths by suicide between 2000 and 2004 occurred in young adults in their 20s. According to the World Health Organization, Ireland now has the fourth highest rate of suicide in people aged 15-24 in the EU. 6

The good news is that there are plenty of people and organisations out there who are just waiting to help.

References:

  1. McGorry P. (2005) Every me and every you; responding to the hidden challenge of mental illness in Australia, Australian Psychiatry 13 (1) 3-15
  2. WHO 2002, A Better Future Now, 2005; McGorry, 2005: and ENCP, 2005
  3. Coon et al 2003, Kessler et al 2005
  4. A Better Future Now, 2005
  5. Jamieson and Romer in Evans, D (2005) Treating and preventing adolescent mental health disorders. What we know and what we don’t know (Oxford Univeristy Press).
  6. National Office for Suicide Prevention Annual Report 2008 (NOSP 2008).