In Albania, experts claim that the number of young people with mental health problems is increasing.
Psychologists and psychiatrists say that society’s challenges and identity crises among many young people are accompanied by stress and the appearance of mental health problems.
The increasing cases of mental health problems among young people, according to experts, are related to the changes that Albanian society itself is undergoing, as well as to the phenomena that appear in everyday life even among young people.
Psychiatrist Gjon Preçi says that young people’s confrontation with the stresses of everyday life, migration, the use of narcotic substances and, in particular, intense life on social networks, are having consequences on their mental health.
“We have enough young people who almost live a virtual life. They stay on social networks all night and sleep all day. A contrast to the biological growth that man has. And these are the people in whom we see a constant stress. They are very vulnerable and very prone to develop a mental health problem, which starts from a simple stress to real psychoses”, he says.
What stands out, says doctor Preçi, are the increasing cases of young people returning from migration with serious mental health problems.
“The people who come to us, after having spent a period perhaps even in prisons and have been subjected to real and continuous stress, trying to fight the stress, have abused alcohol and various drugs”, he says.
For the psychologist Fatjon Taipi, the problems of young people are related to the challenges of society itself. Faced with these challenges, young people try to create and develop their identity, which is often accompanied by increased stress and the emergence of mental health problems.
“Young people, since they are in a very confusing stage of creating their identity, often follow two paths.
First, it is related to their personality data, which can create mental health disorders and, second, they identify with social groups and activities, which are harmful to themselves, society, but in the end the last ones are also anti-legal”, he says.
In Albania, according to INSTAT, in 2023, the 18-29 age group committed 10,472 crimes or 26.5 percent of all crimes committed in Albania. Meanwhile, 1,758 young people of this age have ended up in prison, with an increase of 203 young people more than in 2022. These cases, according to experts, are mostly associated with mental health disorders.
The program “Promoting access to mental health support for young people”, which is implemented with partners from France, North Macedonia, Poland, Cyprus, and Greece, shows that there are often misunderstandings about mental health problems among young people, says the coordinator of this program Klodiana Serraj.
“In Albania it is still taboo to talk about mental health, because it is treated as a misunderstanding based on clichés, the society where we grew up. In fact, mental health is a normal illness, like any other illness.”
For psychiatrist Gjon Preçi, it is not difficult to diagnose mental health problems. But handling cases, he says, is difficult and takes time.
“The possibility is limited because of the situation, which is complex in our society. Access that family members have to receive services from the periphery, from remote areas, inability to move, limited services in the area, etc. And this makes the problem very complex and with a bad perspective”.
According to research by UNICEF experts, up to 20 percent of adolescents worldwide experience mental disorders and that three out of four adult mental health problems begin in childhood and adolescence.
