World Mental Health Day

Today is World Mental Health Day, an opportunity to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilise efforts in support of mental health.

In some EU Member States today is part of a longer, month-long campaign around mental health, and provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make adequate mental health care a reality.

Subjective well-being is an indicator that is mainstreamed throughout Eurofound’s research, including in its face-to-face, telephone and online surveys. Subjective well-being refers to an individual’s own assessment of their quality of life and their situation.

Eurofound research during the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, showed thatpeople in the EU aged 18-34 were more likely to report feeling depressed, lonely, and anxious than those aged 35 and over. They also indicated lower levels of resilience in dealing with problems in life, and a significant decrease in life satisfaction compared to before the pandemic.

Eurofound research also reveals important trends. Young Irish women, for example, were more likely to report feeling downhearted and depressed, and lonely, than both their male compatriots and the EU average. This is not aligned with broader EU findings, where women aged 18-34 were slightly less likely than men to report feeling depressed or lonely.

Speaking on the occasion of World Mental Health Day, Mary McCaughey, Eurofound Head of Unit for Information and Communication, emphasised the importance of mental health on both a personal and policy level, ‘Promoting the well-being of its citizens is a key goal for the EU and has gained prominence in the social policy agenda in the last decade. Subjective well-being, and good mental health, is a part of this. Today is not just a day to reflect on mental health and to raise awareness, but also to look at the research that exists and ensure that action is taken on policy level.’

More information:

• Topic page: Subjective well-being
• Data story: High risk of depression persists following COVID-19 pandemic: Data behind the mental health crisis
• World Health Organization: World Mental Health Day