Discussion A4: Crisis of mental health as a political question

discussing: J. Ballx, (psychiatrist and therapist), N. Kuglerová (social worker and therapist, researcher),  P. Sit (photograph, performer, artist), dramaturgy and moderation by B. Smieška

The number of people struggling with anxiety, insomnia and depression is rising. The World Health Organization considers the increased incidence of depression the epidemic of the 21th century. As the recent research by the Mental Health League showed, every fourth or fifth person in Slovakia admits to quite frequent symptoms of anxiety and other similar issues. Limited social interaction and isolation, which we had to face during the pandemic, fear from the foreseeable future connected to the war in Ukraine and concerns about economic problems, unsolved long-term traumas, work and life burn-out, concerns caused by climatic change – these are just a few factors that distinctively influence the quality of our mental health. Other causes of the deteriorating mental health of the society are the lack of empathy and cooperation, wild conspiration tendencies, influence of social networks, non-tolerance against minorities, stereotypes, prejudices, absence of a wider societal vision – all these issues are closely linked to our mental health.

What is mental health? How does the state of our society and mental health influence each other? How accessible is mental health and psychiatric health care in Slovakia? Which groups of people are the most vulnerable and why? Is it possible to deal with the situation of health without the wider context – without putting the issues in perspective with life conditions, societal and political issues?