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New Data and Reporting Lay Bare a Youth Mental-Health Emergency in Spain and Peru

Fresh surveys alongside on-the-ground reporting expose severe youth distress colliding with thin, hard-to-reach mental-health services.

Overview

  • In Spain, a 2025 barometer finds one in three young people has self-harmed and 43% have had suicidal thoughts even as 65% rate their mental health as good or very good, with unwanted loneliness widespread and aesthetic pressure rising sharply.
  • An El Comercio investigation in Lima reports 93% of surveyed adolescents experienced a mental-health issue and only 60% sought help, with testimonies describing long public waiting lists and impersonal care.
  • Private treatment in Peru is often unaffordable, with psychology sessions at roughly S/100–S/150 and psychiatry near S/300 in a country where the monthly minimum wage is S/1,130.
  • El Comercio notes only 2.35% of Peru’s 2025 public health budget is earmarked for mental health, roughly 21 soles per person, and cites a limited workforce of about 176 psychologists per 100,000 inhabitants.
  • The World Health Organization estimates one in seven adolescents globally has a mental disorder, and Mexican experts warn of rising depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, with violence and social media identified as compounding risks.