Europe Faces Mental Health Crisis

This year's Olympics games grabbed attention beyond the marvellous display of athletic feats. Celebrated gymnast Simon Bile's decision to pull out of this year's games to focus on her mental health made headlines across the globe. Her inspirational move proved to be a turning point in destigmatising mental health issues in the athletic world.

Pierluigi Antonelli is CEO at Angelini Pharma.

Following Bile's example, American sprinter Noah Lyles, women's pole vault silver medallist Anzhelika Sidorova and Spanish heptathlete Maria Vicente bravely opened up about their own mental health struggles, sparking a long-overdue discussion on a topic too often swept under the carpet.

According to studies, one out of six people in Europe are afflicted with mental health conditions. Mental illnesses are among the top ten most common non-communicable diseases. The devastating socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 outbreak has further triggered a global mental health crisis. Since the pandemic took hold in 2020, the anxiety and stress levels of people across the globe have skyrocketed.

In a recent study, 40 percent of people reported that COVID-19 has had a negative effect on their mental health.

The pandemic has also exacerbated gender-related challenges with its mental health consequences disproportionately affecting women, both at work and at home. According to recent estimates, 83 percent of women report that the pandemic negatively impacted their mental health compared to 36 percent of men.

Pregnant women, women in the postpartum period, or those experiencing trauma such as a miscarriage or abuse from intimate partners, were found to be most susceptible to the psychological impacts of the pandemic.

The burden of...