South Africa leads in mental health cases
The numbers from a global survey have been released and it seems that South Africa and the United Kingdom are among the most distressed countries in the world when it comes to mental health.
The 2023 Mental State of the World Report surveyed over 500,000 respondents across seventy-one nations in nine regions. According to the survey, some of the explanations include the pandemic’s long-term impact, as well as the prevalence of smartphones among young people today.
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According to the data, countries such as the Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania emerged as the top-ranking countries with MHQ ratings of 88 and above, showing that they were not as concerned with mental health.
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South Africa, on the other hand, was amongst the lowest-ranked nations alongside Uzbekistan, which had the lowest mental health score of 48, followed by the United Kingdom in second last with 49, and South America’s Brazil at 50.
Triggers of distress
Among the key findings, researchers identified that smartphone use and the consumption of ultra-processed foods were major contributors to mental health challenges.
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In much wealthier countries, where smartphone ownership starts at an earlier age and processed food consumption is higher, mental well-being suffers the most and young generations ranging from 35 and below saw the biggest drop in mental well-being.
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