EESC info

To shine a light on civil society’s efforts towards curbing the silent epidemic of mental health disorders in the EU, the EESC has published a brochure which features a number of entries submitted for the Civil Society Prize on mental health. You can read the brochure here.

Facts and figures about mental health in the EU do not paint a rosy picture but rather raise a call for action. The EESC advocates stronger measures to promote mental health at national and EU levels. It has also called for binding legislation to prevent psychosocial risks in the workplace. With the Civil Society Prize on mental health, it pays tribute to the continuing efforts of civil society to improve the wellbeing of Europeans.

1. The EESC decided to dedicate its flagship Civil Society Prize to mental health after reports that, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression spiked across Europe. According to the OECD, the share of young people with symptoms of anxiety more than doubled in several European countries. The pandemic also lowered the age of onset for eating disorders, particularly among adolescents. Even before COVID-19 hit, mental health problems affected at least 84 million people – around one in six – across the EU.
2. Around 4% of annual deaths in the EU are attributed to mental health and behavioural disorders. Poor mental health also has a huge economic impact, as the direct and indirect costs account for roughly 4% of GDP. More than a third of these costs stem from lower employment rates and falling productivity at work.
3. In 2020, 44.6% of the employed population aged 15-64 across the EU reported facing risk factors for their mental wellbeing at work according to Eurostat. Work overload or time pressure was the most commonly mentioned risk factor for mental wellbeing at work, reported by nearly a fifth of employed people in the EU.
4. Mental wellbeing has risen to the top of the political agenda in the EU. As a result, the Commission adopted a comprehensive approach to mental health in June 2023. Supported by EUR 1.23 billion in EU funding, this new approach aims to promote mental health in all EU policies, with a focus on three guiding principles: adequate and effective prevention; access to high-quality and affordable mental healthcare and treatment; and reintegration into society after recovery. Mental health is also a political priority for the EESC and is at the core of its work.
5. The EESC received as many as 105 applications from across the EU, covering a wide range of topics – from projects preventing psychosocial risks in the workplace or tackling issues such as substance abuse and cyberaddiction to combatting stigma around mental health and promoting community-led assistance. The EESC hopes that by honouring and showcasing these vital non-state efforts in supporting mental health it can also inspire others to do the same. (sg)

Through its social engagement network AgeWell, the Irish charity Third Age Foundation is battling loneliness in old age. Its AgeWell Companions, themselves over 50, visit older people in their homes once a week, offering companionship but also monitoring the client's health and well-being with the help of a phone-based app questionnaire. The Third Age Foundation's Alison Branigan told us that to date, more than 500 people received the support in Ireland's Co. Meath, with some describing the service as a "lifeline" or even as "light at the end of a dark long tunnel."

What prompted you to start your project?

AgeWell was introduced in Co. Meath to support its growing older population, who had specific social, emotional, psychological, and physical care needs. Our health service is under immense pressure, our population is growing and ageing, and there are long waiting lists for services including home support. AgeWell provides a timely and practical response that compliments and enhances our existing health service by supporting older people who are isolated, lonely, frail, housebound, and at-risk to help them live better for longer in the place of their choosing, by providing them with social connections and ongoing health and well-being monitoring, and by identifying and reacting to emerging issues before they escalate into something more serious. AgeWell also fits well with the ethos of our organisation Third Age, which supports older people directly through innovative services and programmes, and creates unique volunteering opportunities where older people can support their peers and other community groups. 

How was your project received? Did you have any feedback from the people you helped?  (Can you give an example if you have any)

To date AgeWell has supported over 500 older people in Co. Meath. Many really appreciate the companionship aspect of the programme: they have built a special trust with their AgeWell Companions, which helps us to understand their needs and fears and thus enables us to better support them.

Comments from our clients include: “the service is a lifeline”, “I didn’t know I needed the support until I had it”, “I’m so grateful for the service and my companion, she brightens up my week”, “I was very lonely, I didn’t see anyone from one day to the next, I really look forward to my visits”. One client who found himself in a very dark place and admitted he had contemplated suicide several times said that “AgeWell came at the right time - it helped me to see light at the end of a long dark tunnel”; he also said “everyone should have access to this service”.

Our volunteer companions who are also older people have this to say: “I just love being a volunteer”, “It’s so nice to feel you are making a difference”, and “I’ve learned a lot about people and myself doing this job”.

Statistically we can prove that AgeWell improves well-being and social, emotional and informational support, reduces isolation and loneliness, improves self-rated health, and increases physical activity levels.

Other feedback includes peace of mind expressed by the family members of our clients, and recognition of our work from healthcare providers who continually refer clients directly to us.

What advice would you give to other organisations in terms of achieving results with such activities and programmes?

Know your audience, involve your participants in the process, and listen to their suggestions and their needs. Believe in what you know and what you can achieve, be brave, be creative, persevere: if your idea is good enough, you will find a way. Be open to working with others, and if you can get buy-in from the state or health service in terms of funding and/or support/promotion, that can add hugely to the programme's credibility, its impact and its success.

What is, in your opinion, the main trigger for worsening mental health in old age, apart from physiological factors? Can we, as a society, improve the mental health of older people?

Loneliness and isolation have always been factors that contribute to worsening mental health in old age; while this can be an issue in rural Ireland it is just as prevalent in bustling towns and cities. In recent years the effects of the pandemic, forced isolation, cocooning, and shielding, and the loss of social contact, access to activities and freedom have created an epidemic of fear, anxiety, depression, and mental health issues. Domestic and world events, including the rising cost of living, war and conflict, have also played a part. As people age their social circles can decrease, illness can affect their ability to get out and about, they may become housebound, or experience a loss of independence; all of these can affect esteem, self-worth, mood, and outlook. It is important that older people are not forgotten just because they may not be visible: we need to remember the importance of community, community interventions and the power of social contact and social prescribing initiatives. 

In 2013, the Lapinlahti hospital, Finland's first psychiatric hospital and the symbol of mental health care in the country with a 170-year history, stood empty and forgotten. Then a group of mental health activists rolled up their sleeves with a vision of transforming the dilapidated place of heritage into an open centre for mental health, culture and the arts. Siru Valleala, a representative of the association Pro Lapinlahti which runs the centre, told us that Lapinlahden Lähde is now first and foremost an inclusive place where stigma and prejudice are left at the gate and where everyone feels welcome.

What prompted you to start your project?

In 2013, the Lapinlahti Hospital, Finland's first psychiatric hospital, built in 1841, stood empty. The City of Helsinki had no plans for its future. Full of heritage and surrounded by beautiful parkland, the historic site was forgotten and dilapidated. Concerned about this tragic situation, a group of mental health activists started sharing their vision and dreams for the place - to transform the Lapinlahti hospital and parkland into an open centre for mental health, culture and the arts.

That was the beginning of what is today known as Lapinlahden Lähde – “the spring of Lapinlahti”.  Activities build on the area’s historical and architectural significance in the heart of Lapinlahti Bay, inspired by 170 years of mental health work. The focus was shifted from treating illness to promoting wellbeing for all walks of life. Lapinlahden Lähde is now a living example of the ongoing anti-stigma work and a paradigm shift towards promoting the positive.

In the past, Lapinlahti had been the flagship of psychiatry and a place where mental health care was constantly being developed. Instead, now the mental health activists who had worked for the Pro Lapinlahti Mental Health Association that was founded in 1988 – when Lapinlahti was still an active hospital – wanted to create an innovative centre for promoting mental health, using all the knowledge available in the 21st century, a place that embodies the concrete paradigm shift from treating mental illness to promoting mental wellbeing.

How was your project received? Did you have any feedback from the people you helped?  Do you have an example to give us?

In the beginning it was a challenge getting people to come through the gates. The area had been closed to the public for 170 years while it was used as a psychiatric hospital, and despite interest and curiosity it was difficult to convince people that they were welcome to come and have a look round. Slowly but surely, people joined in the activities and events and enthusiastically helped to develop them further, volunteering and sharing ideas. Artists and performers brought their art exhibitions and cultural events to Lapinlahden Lähde and today we have more than 400 events a year, and 50–60 yearly art exhibitions. Lapinlahti has become an open living room for everyone in Helsinki, promoting mental wellbeing and reducing loneliness and social exclusion every single day of the year.

”When I got involved with this initiative I felt it was absolutely lovely that I could be here, helping to breathe new life into this place ... the air blows all the heavy things away.” (Cresswell-Smith et al 2022)

Lapinlahti hospital is today viewed as a very safe and inclusive place. A place where you always feel welcome, regardless of what kind of day you are having or what kind of life situation you find yourself in. There is meaning in Lapinlahti’s past as a psychiatric hospital. It gives you permission to be vulnerable and there is an openness about mental health difficulties which is absolutely unique. We build on a strong sense of community and everyone can safely explore their own strengths. Stigma and discrimination are left at the gate, and we at Lapinlahden Lähde pride ourselves on including everyone.

Lapinlahti's operations have been developed in cooperation with the owner, the City of Helsinki, and this development work has been a prerequisite for the entire operation. Far-reaching political decisions are currently being taken on the future ownership of the area, and we hope that the success of the current operations will be fully taken into account.

How will you use this specific funding to provide further help in the community? Are you already planning new projects?

We will continue to develop our activities so that even more people can take part and benefit from them. We have recently launched an exciting project for people recovering from mental health disorders which aims to increase access and even rights to cultural activities. More specifically, helping people to find their own way to achieve cultural expression, to figure out what works for them in terms of mental wellbeing culture and the arts. This is what we will use the generous prize money awarded here for.

In your opinion, what kind of collective action is needed to reduce the stigma that often accompanies mental health problems? Can art have a role in empowering people with mental health problems?      

We need to provide activities where people with different experiences and backgrounds can meet. Building activities not based on health status or life circumstances creates unique human encounters and forges meaningful connections between people from different backgrounds. Exploring mental health through different means such as the arts has increased awareness and understanding. Art has an exceptional way of bringing people together and offers new ways to deal with even painful issues. Art channels expression and builds opportunities for people to be seen and heard. The power of being heard can change a person's life and their perception of themselves.

The Slovak project Crazy? So what?, run by the organisation Integra, brings together young students and people who have experienced mental health problems. During one full day of teaching, students learn first hand what it is like to overcome a mental health crisis and how to get help . Integra's director Jana Hurova told us that the project helps break down the stigma about people struggling with mental health and gives young people a precious spark of hope.

What prompted you to start your project?

For many years, our organisation has been supporting people with mental health problems. As a result of being ill, they have lost their jobs, homes, friends, sometimes their families too. Their whole world has been turned upside down. We set up Slovakia’s first community mental health services almost 30 years ago. Its aim was to ensure that that these people, after being treated in a psychiatric hospital, could receive support and get back to the regular lives they had before they were ill. We supported the emergence of patient organisations in Slovakia and carried out a number of programmes to destigmatise mental illness. There are people with severe mental health problems in our care, especially schizophrenia, many of whom have already managed to integrate and find meaning in their lives.

With all of our activities being carried out in a non-traditional way from the very beginning, working in partnership with our clients to best identify their needs, we applied a similar approach to the Crazy? So what! programme. Many of our clients have found a sense of purpose by meeting young people and, by drawing on their personal experience, talking about what they lacked at their age and what later triggered their mental health problems.

We see a growing need to highlight the importance of mental health. Knowing how to manage a personal crisis is a great strength.

We started the Crazy? So what! programme in Slovakia back in 2005, together with partners from Germany and Czechia. However, it is only recently that we have managed to put the programme on a more stable footing and to expand it. We have trained as coaches, we train up new teams and we visit new schools.

How has your project been received? Did you have any feedback from the people you helped?  (Can you give an example if you have any)

It always makes a strong impression on young people when they are able to meet those who have overcome a mental health crisis and who they can ask about anything. It shows them that if they do have problems themselves, help is always available. The fact that it involves one full day of teaching, and that communication is on an equal basis, means that participants always come away with a positive impression.

People with personal experience of mental health problems can give young people the courage to do something about their own problems. In almost every class, there are students experiencing problems. Giving them a spark of hope is priceless. People with personal experience tell their own story as a way of feeling better themselves. They themselves decide how much to let the pupils into their lives. In this way, they feel that they are valuable and that people understand them.

We received many comments such as students saying they don't normally get the chance to meet people with mental health problems or that we should learn to accept such people and not condemn them for being different.

We also received feedback from people with personal experience of mental health problems who are involved in the programme. One person told us:

‘The programme gives me the courage to walk tall. I want to live at last! Talking to students is tough but rewarding. They are very open, and have hardly any fear of social contact. The most wonderful thing for me is that they show there is far more that unites us than divides us, that the image of “crazy people” is not true. It is great that I can help people to finally talk openly about mental health problems, so that no one has to be ashamed or to hide. ’

What drives us forward are young people. After each of these days, they talk about how important the Crazy? So what! programme is for them and that it should continue so that every young person in Slovakia can learn about how valuable their own mental health is.

Are you already planning new projects?

We would like there to be scope for all young people to receive this form of education so that we can further expand the programme to other regions of Slovakia. It has already been carried out in Germany (where it was first set up), Slovakia, Czechia and Austria. This year we also trained up the first teams in Ukraine.

In your opinion, how important is it to openly talk about one's mental health problems? What message are you sending with your project?

We want to spread the message that having mental health problems is not a source of shame. What is shameful, however, is not doing anything to promote our own health. Because there is no health without mental health.

The main idea behind the Crazy? So what! programme is to highlight in good time the importance of mental health, and, at the same time, to foster understanding of people with mental health problems.

We have found it is much better to prevent than to treat. And it is more effective too. We offer courage and motivation and are optimistic. Help is always available. Sometimes it is enough to have someone to talk to. Fighting for your dreams is never easy, but it is worth it.

Feeling there was still room for innovation and new approaches to mental health, the Finnish Lilinkoti Foundation developed The World of Recovery (TWoR) games – one played online and the other around a table. Both are role-playing games that require players to step into the shoes of a given character. Set in a futuristic world of hope, they promote the player’s journey to recovery, targeting those recovering from mental health and substance abuse problems, but also professionals. Lilinkoti’s representatives Reetta Sedergren and Venla Leimu told us that games have a huge potential to improve mental health, however, this potential remains largely untapped. 

What prompted you to start your project? 

Some years ago, we at Lilinkoti foundation felt there was plenty of space for innovation and new approaches in the field of mental health recovery. Spread of recovery orientation was a huge step forward for the field, but modern, innovative tools to implement it were somewhat lacking. Our organisation had worked with people recovering from mental health problems for decades, and we had a dream: what if there was a modern tool to boost mental health – a digital game you play as a character? 

How was your project received? Did you have any feedback from the people you helped?   

The World of Recovery games were co-developed with people recovering from mental health problems and with professionals, so the feedback was constant throughout the game design process, guiding it towards the end result. 

We received overwhelmingly positive anonymous and personal feedback from the players of both games. For example, more than 90% of responders said that the mobile game boosted their well-being and helped them to get active, while the role-playing game helped them with their social skills.  

Perhaps the best feedback was the laughter and the conversations about feelings, challenges and strengths, and the way that these games brought the players together, regardless of their roles and background. 

What advice would you give to other organisations in terms of achieving results with such activities and programmes? 

There are many benefits to being on the frontlines of innovation. It is truly inspiring and you are doing something new. Embrace it, don’t try to fit into any box. Follow your instinct, be curious to listen to everybody’s opinions. More than anything, involve people who are recovering and experts by experience in the design process. If you are making games, be prepared to tackle lots of prejudices from professionals. It is common in the field of mental health that games in general are considered addictive or harmful. Don’t be discouraged! Be bold, be creative and dare to dream. 

What is the potential of computer and video games for improving mental health? In your opinion, should they be used more in the treatment of mental health issues? 

The potential of computer and video games – and specifically role-playing games – for improving mental health is huge. As an alarming number of people suffer from mental health issues, we need new, versatile ways to improve mental health. It is a shame that the potential of games has not been explored further. This is not for lack of interest but for lack of sufficient funding. There is no fast and easy way to develop good games to improve mental health. We need more funding, more co-developed projects and more mental health and game industry professionals working towards this goal. And we need research, lots of research. 

Over 55 million worldwide, many of them adolescents, suffer from eating disorders, impacting their mental and physical health. Stigma prevents many from seeking help. The project Telling Stories for Good, run by Italian organisation Animenta, aims to dismantle stereotypes, promote early recognition and provide support. Since 2021, they have reached over 10,000 pupils in Italy. We talked to Animenta's president and founder Aurora Caporossi.

What prompted you to start your project?

Animenta was born of the need to give a voice to all people suffering from an eating disorder, but also to those who live next door. The association aims to ensure that people receive proper access to treatment for eating disorders, because it is possible for people to heal from an eating disorder if they are given the opportunity to heal themselves.

How has your project been received? Have you had any feedback from the people you helped?  Do you have an example you can give us?

"Animenta is the place where I felt welcomed, I realised that I also suffered from an eating disorder even though I was not underweight." This is a message that came several months ago from our community which allowed us to understand the importance and impact of our work. Animenta was received with curiosity, but also with the hope that we could bring about change.

How will you use this specific funding to provide further help in the community? Are you already planning new projects?

We would like to invest more and more in the projects we carry out in schools to broaden our impact. Likewise, funds will be used to start self-help groups for those suffering from an eating disorder. Animenta's projects include Animenta Camps, which are six-day experiences in nature for people to rediscover their relationship with themselves, their bodies and food.

What advice would you give to other organisations in terms of achieving results with these kinds of activities and programmes?

Start with stories to learn about what the community you are addressing is experiencing. Ask for feedback, and give out questionnaires to understand what they need. But most of all put your face out there to tell the story of your struggle and the change you want to bring about. At the same time, it is crucial to network with others to create an efficient and effective support system.

In your opinion, are eating disorders today properly recognised as a serious mental health issue? Do people affected receive appropriate support and what should be done to improve this?

Today there is more talk about eating disorders, so we can say that there is more information. However, they are diseases that have a deep social stigma and very stereotypical representation. Some people, even today, believe that eating disorders are a lack of willpower or a whim. In reality, eating disorders are a complex psychiatric illness that needs proper treatment, which at the moment is not always available because there are not enough treatment centres and many people cannot access the treatment pathway.