Skopje, 10 October 2023 (MIA) - The University Clinic for Psychiatry marked World Mental Health Day at the Skopje City Park on Tuesday, joining the WHO's "Mental Health as a Universal Human Right" initiative. 

Professor at the University Clinic for Psychiatry, Slavica Arsova, said that mental health is a universal human right and that each person, despite their age, sex or other features has a right to a quality healthcare protection, i.e. physical and mental health.

"Mental health makes for the whole of human health, it cannot be separated from physical health on any account, and on that basis every individual from the youngest until the oldest age has a right to ask for care of their mental health just as their physical health," said Arsovska.

She added that there is often a stigma that one has no right to feel sad, scared or disappointed, which is why the goal of the University Clinic is to encourage individuals to take care for themselves and their needs.

"Depression is becoming one of the most common disorders afflicting people, not only in our country, but also the world. I especially want to emphasize those vulnerable categories of citizens, such as children, adolescents, women, older people, individuals with physical or mental disabilities," Arsovska noted.

The Clinic's latest two surveys conducted on a national level include adolescents and women, in addition to pregnant women, as a particularly vulnerable category.

"The numbers are worrying, namely, one third of adolescents are prone to depression or anxiety, which of course goes unrecognized, the same thing happens with women, almost one third of respondents have experienced anxiety and depression during pregnancy. It is adolescents and women in those vulnerable periods who belong in that category of citizens, and during a certain time in their life they might need psychiatric-psychological help," Arsovska explained.

Dr. Stefanija Mitrovska at the University Clinic for Psychiatry, said that recent research data conducted post-Covid shows a higher number of depression and anxiety in women during and after childbirth.

"Research shows that one third of respondents experience difficulties, or show clinically relevant symptoms of depression, while another third experience clinically significant anxiety," Mitrovska said.

Recent WHO Regional Office for Europe data on mental health in school-age children reveals a widespread decline in mental health among adolescent girls. According to the data, the number of young people aged 11-15 years with impaired mental health is also growing in North Macedonia.

"As many as 57 percent of girls aged 15 in our country have reported frequent mood swings in the past six months, while 6 out of 10 girls aged 15 reported they suffer from psychometric complications several times a week within the past six months, such as stomach pains, headaches, anxiety, irritability, issues with sleep and concentration. Also, girls aged 11-15 experience life dissatisfaction, much more than boys do," the report reads.

Analyzing data from the 2021/2022 Health Behavior in School Aged Children (HBSC) study, including insights from 280,000 young people in 44 countries, expose the complexities of mental health in young people in North Macedonia. Compared to the average 28 percent of 15-year-old girls who report feeling lonely, in North Macedonia that number is 31 percent. Every third 15-year-old girl in the country, has expressed feelings of loneliness, and every second girl of the same age in the past 12 months has reported having experienced sadness and hopelessness, almost every day for two or more weeks, when they stopped doing their usual activities. ssh/nn/

Photo: MIA