It's six o'clock on a Sunday afternoon, and Paco is heading back to the nursing home after having lunch at home with his family. The moment he steps out the door in his wheelchair, Antonia, his wife, collapses onto the sofa. "This breaks my heart," she says, unable to stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks. A recent decline in Paco's health has forced him to move into a care facility while she continues to live at home. Antonia has cared for her husband for years, even at the expense of her own health, and although the situation was no longer sustainable, they tried to postpone his move as long as possible to avoid being separated. Like them, many elderly couples are forced to separate after a lifetime together. While moving into a care facility is often the most logical decision at this stage of life, taking the step involves emotional difficulties. Paco is experiencing this change with some anxiety, because he says that many elderly people die in the center and that he would like to be surrounded by his family in his final days. "The centers are often the final destination; therefore, being admitted can bring with it a more existential loneliness, the feeling of never having been so close to death," acknowledge Laura Coll-Planas, a doctor with the Catalan Society of Geriatrics, part of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Catalonia, and Dolors Fitó, a member of the same society representing residents.

A quarter of the world's population will suffer from a mental disorder during their lifetime, according to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), which considers mental health one of the major challenges for improving care. There is more data that explains this concern: 15% of adolescents will also experience distress; suicide is the second leading cause of unnatural death among minors. No one escapes falling into a state of anguish, depression, anxiety, or an eating disorder, although there are individual factors (low self-esteem, illness, or addiction) and socioeconomic factors (stress, unemployment, discrimination, injustice, or unwanted loneliness) that can contribute to suffering.

Last year, 22 young people were admitted to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Reference Unit (URPI) at Santa Catalina Hospital in Salt for suicide attempts. This is five more cases than the previous year. Behind each attempt lies immense suffering and despair, both for the young people at risk of suicide and for their families, who plead for more resources so that the authorities "don't let their children die" and provide more funding for the child and adolescent mental health care system. "When it comes to budget allocations, to making a serious commitment, it's always last in line. When a teenager is in crisis, a three-month wait for a psychologist in the public health system isn't just an administrative delay. It's an eternity that can have fatal consequences," laments journalist Sònia Cebrian, the mother of a child admitted to Santa Catalina Hospital in Salt for a suicide attempt. She was there for fifteen days and was discharged this Wednesday. "Healthcare and education professionals are overwhelmed and can't keep up with everything, and families are improvising stopgap measures that only allow them to stay afloat through struggle and isolation," Cebrian adds. The testimony of Sonia, as the mother of a teenager with a mental disorder and several suicide attempts, and that of Ingrid, as a young woman suffering this ordeal, exemplify the scale of a problem that carries a high emotional and financial cost for those who experience it and which, as Sonia says, "is needed." When the solution is a loan

The first time Mariona Esplugues went to a psychiatrist's office, she was 10 years old. The man asked her if she knew how to multiply, and when she started crying, he gave her a Coca-Cola. Two decades have passed since that moment, which Esplugues now looks back on with a sense of humor and has even transformed into a play. She is the creator of CrazyA show that began with just two performances at the Eòlia Theatre and quickly became a minor phenomenon: it has been running for over four years now. Recognized with the BBVA Theatre Prize 2025 And with the award for best show for young people at the 2025 Igualada Festival, the production arrives on February 10th at La Villarroel, where it will celebrate its 100th performance and where it can be seen until March 1st.

The Valencian Ministry of Health, the Spanish Ministry of Health, and the Carlos III Health Institute have launched a study to assess the impact of the recent storm on the mental health of the population in the affected area. The project, which will run for the next three years, will attempt to detect the emergence of problems such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and difficulties in carrying out daily activities. The study aims to understand how the disaster has affected the emotional well-being of the population in order to use the results to guide the planning of control measures and support services needed to respond to weather events of this kind, "improving the capacity of health and social authorities." The work will also reveal the frequency of likely depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress, as well as identify personal, sociodemographic, social support, or disaster-related factors that may influence the mental health of the victims. The study population includes people over five years of age residing in one of the 37 municipalities and four districts of Valencia affected by the disaster, totaling 608,772 citizens. The Valencian Institute of Statistics has already conducted a stratified random sample by census tract, socioeconomic level, degree of impact, age, and sex. This has resulted in a sample of at least 8,153 adults and 2,718 people between the ages of six and seventeen. Those selected will receive an invitation to participate by mail. Those who accept will be interviewed, either in person or by telephone, and these interviews will be repeated periodically to assess their progress.

"I felt very different from everyone else. I felt weak at school and developed anxiety and a lot of sadness," explains Mireia, now 23, who recalls managing anxiety and depression during adolescence. "I stayed in class, didn't go out to the playground, arrived late, and didn't feel like talking to my friends. Everything seemed normal, but internally I was unwell and I became isolated," she says about the anxiety attacks that appeared when she was fourteen and which she couldn't verbalize until she was sixteen. Although anxiety and depression are socially associated with adulthood, this reality also exists among children: it is estimated that between 10% and 20% of children and adolescents may have an anxiety disorder, according to the [unclear - possibly "warning" or "warning"]. Itersia Psychotherapy Center.

One of the many lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic is the need to care for and protect the mental health of young people, as their emotional distress has increased since the outbreak of the coronavirus six years ago. Although there is growing awareness of this problem and, consequently, more public resources are being allocated to address it, the data shows that there are still issues. a high number of Catalan students who continue to sufferBetween 2024 and 2025, for example, 30.6% of students aged 16 to 22 in Catalonia had suicidal thoughts; that is, almost a third had thought about suicide, considered it, or even planned it. Furthermore, one in four (25.9%) self-harmed, and one in ten (10.6%) attempted suicide.

Nearly half a million Catalans received specialized care for mental health disorders between 2010 and 2019, before the pandemic exacerbated the population's emotional distress. During this period, 67 million medications were prescribed to treat these illnesses, a fifth of which were antidepressants alone. This equates to 15.7 million antidepressants over 10 years, according to a study led by the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona. This is the most accurate snapshot to date of the state of mental health care in Catalonia, revealing conclusions such as the growing shortage of professionals and a high "prescribing burden," which, in part, seeks to address the lack of professionals within the system.

Sex, age, and postal code also influence how distress is managed or how the many problems of daily life are faced. In Barcelona, ​​being a woman, young, and living in districts with lower average income predisposes one to suffer more anxiety, according to the report on the health of Barcelona residents published annually by the City Council. This year, primary care has identified 29,482 new cases of anxiety compared to the previous year, two-thirds of which (18,854) were diagnosed in women. The difference between men and women in this regard is very significant: while 578 men per 100,000 inhabitants suffer from anxiety considered problematic, the rate for women rises to 953. That is, it is practically double. Both men and women feel more overwhelmed and react with greater anxiety when they are young, but place of residence is a differentiating factor, although it should be interpreted differently by sex.

After several years marked by the pandemic, which exacerbated emotional distress and triggered mental health disorders in many Catalans, the Catalan Health Survey (ESCA), with data from 2024, confirms a decrease in this problem. While in 2022, 11% of the population over 15 years of age reported having symptoms consistent with depression or experiencing intense emotional distress, this percentage has now been halved (5.8%). For the first time, the ESCA has specifically measured anxiety, revealing that 7.5% of the adult population reports experiencing moderate or severe symptoms. This physical response is more common in women than in men. Regarding the prevalence of moderate or severe depression, the report indicates a significant decrease compared to 2022, falling from approximately 11% of the adult population to 5.8%. The latest ESCA report indicates a significant improvement in emotional well-being, with the population's mental health trending positively. Furthermore, the report reflects that more adults feel they have a supportive environment to rely on during difficult times. However, disparities across genders, ages, and socioeconomic conditions serve as a reminder that there is still progress to be made. According to this report, only one in ten adults experiences low emotional well-being. Broken down by gender, 6.9% of men and 13.1% of women report experiencing psychological distress, which arises in response to difficult, intense, or unpleasant emotions that they struggle to manage. These figures represent an improvement compared to the 2022 ESCA report, when nearly one in three women (27.4%) and one in five men (20.4%) reported emotional distress. However, people aged 74 and over, especially women, as well as those from less privileged social classes and with or without primary education, continue to show lower levels of well-being.

There's a generation living with their backs against the wall and their hearts racing. A generation that has grown up surrounded by screens and uncertainties, that looks to the future with a weary smile and a question on their lips: "How can we learn to live when everything seems too much?"

The Barcelona-born journalist Glòria Serra, known for the program Research team (La Sexta), he explained on the RAC1 podcast No filters the mental health problem that led her to seek professional help when she was 23. In a conversation with journalist Marta Cailà, the panelist ofThe world on RAC1 She detailed what it's like to live with agoraphobia. "I felt that crossing the street put me in very high danger, as if someone had told me to jump off a building," she recalls. Serra asserts that one of the most difficult aspects of mental health problems is the lack of understanding from those around them and even from the person affected. "It was obvious that I could cross the street. It was absurd," she admits. This lack of empathy meant that the journalist didn't tell almost anyone. "People don't understand. My mother's face when I told her was terrible. I didn't know how to tell her; I only knew that it was true that I couldn't cross the street," she says.

Schools and institutes in Catalonia are increasingly recognizing that emotional education is as essential as academic learning. Mental and emotional well-being is the foundation for meaningful learning and the personal and social development of students. For this reason, the Department of Education is promoting various programs and resources that place emotional well-being at the heart of educational life, for both students and teachers.

In Catalonia, more than one million people live with some form of mental disorder. The figures call for action: almost one in four people over the age of fifteen report suffering from emotional distress, and among children—aged four to fourteen—7.4% acknowledge having some kind of mental health problem. These figures are part of a global reality. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in four people worldwide will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives. These figures not only highlight the magnitude of the challenge but also directly call upon all of society: we must view mental health as a collective responsibility and act to reverse this trend. It is in this context that the National Mental Health Pact was born, an initiative of the Catalan government that aims to provide a comprehensive, coordinated, and transformative response to one of the major social and health challenges of our time. The agreement promotes a new way of understanding mental health: a cross-cutting approach that puts people at the center and integrates all areas—healthcare, education, social services, and community—with the goal of guaranteeing real and sustainable emotional well-being throughout life.

Supporting students beyond academic learning is now a shared priority for the Catalan university system. Universities are spaces of knowledge, but also of emotions, life challenges, and community life; therefore, more and more institutions are placing psychological and emotional well-being at the heart of their educational activities. All Catalan universities offer free and confidential psychological support services for students, providing emotional support, guidance, and brief intervention in situations of distress, stress, anxiety, or personal difficulties. These services, staffed by teams of professional psychologists, work in a coordinated manner to ensure a rapid and accessible response. In recent years, the Department of Research and Universities has promoted a review and strengthening of these services to ensure consistent, high-quality coverage throughout the university system.

Talking about what's happening to us isn't always easy, especially when it comes to emotions or situations that cause distress. But there are increasingly more spaces designed for children, teenagers, and young adults to express themselves, ask for help, and receive emotional support without fear or prejudice.

In the lobby of the Sala Talleres at the National Theatre of Catalonia (TNC), a shower of folded papers fills a glass urn. At the top, a message asks the audience to write "a small moment of happiness" that can be read aloud. Teenagers from the Sunsi Móra Institute in Canet de Mar crowd around the table, pens at the ready and the infectious laughter of their age. "I have two. What did you write?" one of them asks. "I won't tell you, but it's obvious, girl. Write both!" the other replies. The students, perhaps more shy or perhaps less enthusiastic, watch them from afar, but every now and then one of them approaches the table and carries out the assigned task. They all make up the audience that attended a school performance this Thursday of TarsivusA show by Lara Díez Quintanilla, directed by Ferran Carvajal, that tackles youth suicide head-on and without subterfuge.

More and more studies and experts warn that suicide is more common among our youth. The data corroborate this: suicide has become one of the leading causes of death among young people between the ages of 15 and 29. Furthermore, almost 20% of adolescents have thought about suicide at some point in their lives, according to a report on mental health prepared by the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) in collaboration with the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). At the same time, according to another report promoted by IDIAPJGol, cases of self-harm among children and young people between the ages of 10 and 24 have experienced an alarming increase of 267% between 2013 and 2022.

On July 6, 2021, the mayor of Berga since 2015, Montse Venturós, announced that she was leaving the mayor's office due to the depression she had been suffering from for six months, which had led her to take leave. In a press conference in the capital of Berguedà, the CUP mayor justified her departure by the need to recover and the impossibility of assuming the responsibilities entailed by the position she held until then. Four years later, Venturós has broken her silence and in an interview with The Supplement from Catalunya Ràdio has given details of how she experienced the mental illness that removed her from the political frontline.

The Government of Catalonia has launched the first round of the Eixart. Art and Health program, a joint initiative of the Departments of Culture and Health that aims to bring contemporary art closer to primary care centers and their users. Three artists have participated in this first edition to create a research and creation project at the primary care centers in Lleida, Amposta, and Vic. Eixart seeks to create meeting spaces for users of primary care centers, family members, healthcare professionals, and creators, facilitating the community's active participation in the artistic process and in the exchange between the cultural and healthcare worlds.