Exhaustion, anxiety and depression continued to increase in the 4th study
Vienna (OTS) – On behalf of the Psychosocial Services in Vienna (PSD-Vienna), as well as MA 23, MA57 and the FSW, Foresight (formerly SORA Institute) surveyed more than 1,000 Viennese people about their mental health in 2023 for the fourth time since 2020. The results are more than clear: mental health challenges remain high. One in five people reports a continuous deterioration in the past two years. Exhaustion, anxiety and depression are the most common. 69% see their everyday routine impaired by exhaustion (plus eight percentage points compared to 2022), more than a quarter of them every day or at least more than half of the days. Fears have also increased again compared to 2022 and are bothering 65% of those surveyed. Young people and women are particularly affected. Inflation represents a heavy burden for 59% of those surveyed.
“But we also see that not everyone is in the same boat. Even though everyone has to contend with stormy seas, it makes a difference whether you have to brave the waves in a pedal boat or in a luxury yacht. Those people who were already struggling with challenges before the pandemic are significantly more affected than others. Young people and women are particularly burdened. Exhaustion and anxiety have increased again among these groups over the course of 2023 and have therefore increased in each of the four years surveyed so far. The greatest burdens are found among women who do care work and young women under the age of 29. Especially those who are in the bottom economic third.”
the coordinator for psychiatry, addiction and drug issues for the city of Vienna, Ewald Lochner, interprets the numbers.
9 out of 10 young women under 29 from the lower economic third suffer from exhaustion and anxiety, 8 out of 10 from uncontrolled worries. “We are also seeing an increase in calls to the worry hotline, especially from women. Even before the pandemic, mental illnesses were the most common cause of illness among young women. This trend has increased further with the crises of recent years. With the Vienna worry hotline we offer a low-threshold, professional first point of contact.”
says the head of psychosocial information, Ardjana Gashi.
Shame is still a powerful argument why people who need support don’t seek it. “At least 28% of people who wanted to seek help did not do so because of a feeling of shame. We still have a long way to go, especially when it comes to destigmatizing mental illnesses. Getting mental help needs to become as normal as it is with physical illnesses. Because early help means double help.”
emphasizes Gashi.
For the first time, the use of medication was also explicitly asked about as part of the survey on the psychosocial situation of Viennese people. 13% of those surveyed took sleeping pills or sedatives every day or on more than half of the days in the last four weeks. Just as many medications for fatigue and depression. 24% took sleeping pills or sedatives at least on some days, 19% for fatigue and depression. The numbers are also higher among young people: 33% of those up to 29 years of age took sleeping pills or sedatives at least on some days, and 31% took medication for depression and fatigue.
“In addition to the high number of medications taken, the comparatively low number of medically supervised medications is also a cause for concern. While 79% of older Viennese report that the medications they take require a prescription, this only applies to those under 29 in 59% of cases. Medical advice should also be given for non-prescription medicines. Self-medication is associated with great dangers.”
warns the medical director of Addiction Help Vienna, Regina Walter-Philipp.
“In recent years, the city of Vienna has taken a variety of measures to address the challenges. From prevention, to low-threshold offers for initial support, to expanding treatment in the outpatient sector. Further measures will follow in the coming years, such as the opening of additional child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinics.”
announces Lochner.
Service
- 4. Survey on psychosocial health in Vienna (annually since 2020)
- 1,033 respondents in 2023, including 502 people who were also surveyed in 2022
- 53% of respondents were women
Questions & Contact:
Allowed. Markus Stradner
Press and public relations
Office of the Coordinator for Psychiatry, Addiction and Drug Issues of the City of Vienna
Tel.: +43 676 8118 53598
E-Mail: markus.stradner@psd-wien.at