A Reuters analysis deals with the mental health of Greeks amid the deepening financial crisis.
Accompanied by a photograph depicting the place where 77-year-old Dimitris Christoulas committed suicide two months ago, the Reuters article refers to the suicide rates in countries facing extended financial problems using Greece as a central “case study.”
“Behind every suicide in crisis-stricken countries such as Greece, there are up to 20 more people desperate enough to have tried to end their own lives,” is the introductory paragraph of the long, detailed article on Greeks’ mental health.
“And behind those attempted suicides, experts say there are thousands of hidden cases of mental illness, like depression, alcohol abuse and anxiety disorder, that never make the news, but have large and potentially long-lasting human costs,” outlines the article, noting that several public health experts claim that “the risk is that if and when Greece’s economic woes are over, a legacy of mental illness could remain in a generation of young people damaged by too many years of life without hope.”
The article hosts the statements of famous David Stuckler, a sociologist at Britain’s Cambridge University who has been studying the health impacts of biting budget cuts in Europe as the euro crisis lurches on.
“Austerity can turn a crisis into an epidemic. Job loss can lead to an accumulation of risks that can tip people into depression and severe mental illness which can be difficult to reverse – especially if people are not getting appropriate care,” he explains. “Untreated mental illness, just like other forms of illness, can escalate and develop into a problem that is much more difficult to treat later on,” Stuckler warns.
Referring to the disappointing youth unemployment rates (more than 50 percent) and the unemployment-related mental and psychological problems, the article rings the bell for young Greeks and calls for appropriate action by the authorities.
Reuters also refers to the double suicide of 60-year-old Antonis Perris and his 90-year-old mother in Metaxourgio as well as the image of young people using illicit drugs in the streets of Athens.
Furthermore, the article deals with the budget cuts in the health sector and the urging need of the creation of suitable facilities for mental support, remarking that “health minister characterized these cuts as being made with a butcher’s knife rather than a scalpel.”
“In Greece, suicide rates are already rising rapidly, albeit from a low starting point. Suicides rose by 17 percent between 2007 and 2009, and by 40 percent in the first half of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010, according to a report in the Lancet medical journal last year,” explains the extended Reuters analysis.
“Public health experts point to some countries, such as Sweden and Finland, which in times of crisis managed to avoid increases in mental illness and suicide rates by investing in employment initiatives to help get people back on their feet,” explains Kate Kelland, Reuters Health and Science Correspondent.
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