Malaga sees striking increase in hospital admissions for mental health issues among minors

Mental health

Hospitalisation has increased eightfold in a decade, with self-harm behaviours, previously considered "rare", on the rise

Susana Zamora

The increase in hospital admissions for mental health issues among minors at Malaga's Hospital Regional strikingly contrasts the situation from a decade ago. While in 2015 there were between 15 and 20 admissions annually, current projections (based on the rate observed after the opening in January of a short-stay hospitalisation unit for adolescents) point to figures that could reach between 110 and 120 cases by the end of the year or 150 if children under 14 admitted to Hospital Materno Infantil are included. In other words, the statistics could increase tenfold if the current trend continues.

Director of the hospital's mental health unit Antonio Bordallo acknowledges that initial estimates, which predicted between 70 and 80 patients annually, have been far exceeded.

Bordallo says that many families are experiencing less time and more stress and schools have had to deal with emotional and social problems for which they are not always adequately prepared. "Furthermore, we are now better at identifying and naming psychological distress, which is a positive development."

This is what happened to Jorge. Diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder and OCD, he had a complex history. He suffered bullying at school and from a young age began experimenting with marijuana and alcohol. It was precisely a "bad hangover" that triggered his phobia. It happened overnight. The next day, his anxiety level in class was so high that he was unable to sign his name when the teacher took attendance. He froze. "That experience stuck with me. From then on, I was incapable of doing anything, even something as simple as picking up a glass, just for fear of it happening again, of freezing up," Jorge says in Digitas, a content transfer tool from the University of Jaén designed to address emotional problems among adolescents.

Avoidance is one of the manifestations of social phobia, so from that moment on, his body began to reject what he perceived as a threat. It was his defence mechanism: to flee. Tremors, sweating, tense muscles. He didn't understand anything. "What's wrong with my head? Since I couldn't find the answer, I never confronted it and that, in turn, caused me more anxiety," Jorge says.

For three years he suffered in silence. He didn't know how to tell his parents what was happening to him, that any physical activity or social experience filled him with dread, until he finally mustered the courage to do so.

"The lockdown was the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't have to avoid anyone." Months later, he confided in his mother about what he was going through. It was his way out, it felt freeing.

Later came psychological treatment, understanding what was happening to him and working on confronting his fears (going to crowded places, greeting someone he knew, looking someone in the eye, going to work). Without family support, the process "would have been overwhelming". "The fear is still there, but I've learned to live with it. Nothing paralyses me anymore," he says proudly.

More than 1.5 million young people between the ages of 12 and 18 across Spain are at risk of or experiencing emotional problems, according to the network for the promotion of health and emotional well-being (Proemo) - an initiative launched of the University of Jaén that collaborates with seven Spanish universities, including the University of Malaga. These are "devastating" figures from an analysis that once again highlights the rising trend of problems such as anxiety, depression and related behaviours (eating disorders, excessive social media use and suicidal ideation).

"We shouldn't wait to address these issues when the problem has already taken hold," psychology PhD researcher Lourdes Espinosa says. She highlights the importance of early detection of symptoms, like those Jorge began experiencing and for which he couldn't find an explanation. "Delayed intervention means greater disruption to the young person's life and their family environment," Espinosa says.

Guerrero adds that it's important to be attentive to warning signs, such as significant changes in behaviour: isolation, persistent irritability, loss of interest in usual activities, sleep or appetite disturbances, a sudden drop in school performance and the presence of self-harm or expressions of hopelessness.

"If they notice these signs, family and friends should act with empathy and without judgment, creating spaces for conversation, validating the distress and seeking professional help if necessary. Listening, supporting and not minimising the suffering are the first forms of protection," Guerrero says.

Despite the magnitude of the phenomenon, Bordallo warns of the need to act without alarming. "We cannot look the other way," he says, stressing the importance of addressing this problem from a health, educational and social perspective.

According to Guerrero, epidemiological studies support the claim that approximately half of the mental disorders diagnosed in adulthood have their onset in adolescence. "Therefore, identifying and intervening at this stage is key to mental health prevention," Guerrero states.