Motivation

4. The Downward Spiral

According to World Health Organization, 2018, there is in the WHO European Region a high and increasing rate of mental and behavioral health problems in adolescents at population level. The latest Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey states that, 29% of 15-year-old girls and 13% of 15-year-old boys in European countries reported “feeling low” more than once a week; also, more than one in ten adolescents were regular weekly drinkers by the age of 15 (9% of girls and 16% of boys).

Half of all mental health problems in adulthood have their onset during or before adolescence.

Depression and anxiety disorders are among the top five causes of the overall disease burden (measured in terms of disability-adjusted life years).

Suicide is the leading cause of death among adolescents (10–19 years old) in low- and middle income countries and the second leading cause in high-income countries in the European Region.In 2015, there were over 4000 deaths from suicide among 10–19-year olds in the Region, principally among boys (see Fig. 1).

Young people who are disadvantaged – including minorities and migrants – are particularly affected.

Looking outside Europe, a 2016 survey by Pew Research Center found that nearly one-third of American adults (pretty much the same for all of us) never turn off their smartphones. But the

degree of empathy is six times weaker for online connections than it is for real-world interactions.

A study published in 2011 suggests that empathy is declining sharply. The results, based on a survey of nearly 14,000 students, show that the average level of ‘empathic concern,’ declined by

48 per cent between 1979 and 2009. There was a particularly steep decline between 2000 and

2009. This is part of the reason why a growing number of young people feel lonely, confused, frustrated and even angry. Lonely, confused, frustrated and angry students will not grow up to be happy, resilient, and robust.

Something has to change. Education in empathy can be an essential tool for teaching future generations the skills necessary for personal and societal advancement, based on compassionate  and empathetic understanding.

 THE BENEFITS OF EMPATHY

Denmark is one of the happiest countries in the world. The fact that teaching empathy has been mandatory since 1993 in schools in Denmark is afactor that contributes to the happiness of the country.