In its latest weekly report, Public Health France sounded the alarm on the mental health of French people degraded since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While France is suffering the full brunt of the fifth and sixth waves of Covid-19, with a record number of contaminations (more than 90,000 Thursday, December 23), the mental health of the French remains as degraded as ever, warns Public Health France in its report. weekly. Almost a third of those questioned present an anxious or depressive state, explains the press release. In detail, the prevalence of anxiety states still appears to be high (23% vs. 13.5% in the 2017 Health Barometer), as does the percentage of people reporting sleep problems (68% vs. 49% in the 2017 Health Barometer). . It is higher than that observed at the start of the first confinement (61% in wave 2; early April 2020).
Young people, alas, very concerned
The prevalence of depressive states, after having significantly decreased between April and July, has since followed a significant upward trend with 18% of people questioned. The level of depressive states is comparable to that observed at the start of the first confinement. Even more worrying, the prevalence of suicidal thoughts remains at a high level (10% vs. 5% in the 2017 Health Barometer). Whatever the indicator considered, the profiles of the population most in difficulty are young people (18-24 years old), the inactive and people declaring a difficult financial situation, those declaring a history of psychological disorder, as well as those having already had symptoms of COVID-19. To carry out this COVIPREV survey, a representative national sample of 2,000 people aged 18 and over is interviewed via the Internet.
In the presence of signs of depression (sadness, loss of interest, energy) or anxiety (tension, irritability), it is important to inform yourself and talk about it in order to be advised on the aids and solutions available. Do not hesitate to seek advice from your doctor, to call 0 800 130 00 to ask for a counseling or psychological support, or to get information on the Psycom.org site, recalls SpF.
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