Unicef SA: SA youth suffer from mental health, but don’t know where to seek help

This has emerged from the latest Unicef South Africa U-Report Poll where more than a quarter of the 5,500 respondents didn’t think that their mental health problem was serious enough to seek support.

FILE: Twenty percent of the respondents didn’t know where to get help and 18% were afraid what people would think. Picture: unsplash.com

JOHANNESBURG – Some 65% of young people in South Africa who participated in the latest Unicef study have indicated that they suffer from some form of mental health issues but did not seek help.

This has emerged from the Unicef South Africa U-Report Poll published on Tuesday where more than a quarter of the 5,500 respondents didn’t think that their mental health problem was serious enough to seek support.

Those who took part in the study are all under the age of 24 years.

Twenty percent of the respondents didn’t know where to get help and 18% were afraid what people would think.

Unicef South Africa’s spokesperson Toby Fricker said increased poverty and a lack of hope for the future were two of the top reasons given for children and young people’s anxiety.

“This shows a slight shift from violence in leading a poll that was conducted around six months ago. The reason it is so important to tackle mental health issues in children and young people is that mental health impacts on every part of the child’s life including their physical health, which is why it’s so important that we provide the support they need now.”

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