We Need to Destroy Depression and Peer Pressure Among Teenagers

Researchers and doctors say that depression and anxiety in teenagers, especially girls, is a rising problem in society, and that anxiety can hurt teenagers everywhere not only in classrooms thanks to access to social media.Teenagers with depression and anxiety arising from peer pressure may exude a marked sense of sadness, hopelessness, inappropriate guilt, regret, disappointment, and worthlessness.

They may not like going to school, because they are feeling unmotivated and hopeless about their situation.In the past five days, three young girls are believed to have committed suicide in Ulaanbaatar.

According to reports on the teen suicide rate in Mongolia, between 2012 and 2016, 92 teenagers have ended their own lives. The surviving family members of these teens reported that the suicides were linked to peer pressure, depression, domestic violence, and emotional pain.

Open Society Institute, the Educational Advising and Resource Center, and the Education and Psychology Faculty of Mongolian State University of Education conducted a survey among 1,047 teenage students from two schools in central Ulaanbaatar and three ger district schools in 2016. Nearly 40 percent of the students they surveyed said they had experienced some form of peer pressure.Unfortunately, according to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report on 37 countries and areas in WHO's Western Pacific Region, Mongolia ranked seventh in diagnosed mental disorders, sixth for its suicide rate, and third for diagnosed depressive disorders.

There are 0.5 psychologists and 7.

7 psychiatric nurses for every 100,000 Mongolians, 30 times lower than the ratio in highly developed countries.Depression is an issue we have neglected, but the state and public need to take important action now by raising awareness about our teenagers living with depression.

The theme of World Health Day 2017, observed on April 7, was "Depression: Let's Talk", indicating that there should be a greater focus on tackling the stigma, ignorance, and fear associated with depression.The WHO launched a year-long campaign about depression in October 2016 and is continuing its efforts to improve mental health.

WHO Representative in Mongolia Soe Nyunt U stated that depression can be prevented at a very low cost. If one dollar is invested in preventing depression, four dollars can be saved in return to provide people with access to resources for better mental health and energy.

One major challenge is that when someone...