Issue Rising threats to mental health

Summary

Threats to mental health, including drug abuse, suicide and self-harm, and depression, are rising simultaneously around the world as structural change and global uncertainty interact. The survey sees a compound threat that combines social, economic, climate and technological factors, turning mental health from an individual illness into a systemic risk for global public health and society. Social inequality, the after-effects of the pandemic, digital overload and the climate crisis interact in a vicious circle, with isolation, social media comparison and economic insecurity widening psychological vulnerability. Synthetic opioid deaths are surging in the United States and Europe, youth suicide rates are rising in OECD countries, especially among young women, and climate anxiety is spreading feelings of loss and helplessness about the future. Because the crisis spans the economy, society, environment and politics, the survey argues that medical approaches alone cannot address it and a global systems response is needed.