TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Youth mental health challenges ‘bonus’
World Mental Health Day is observed every Oct. 10. This year’s theme is “Young people and mental health in a changing world”.
Change Size
Wellbeing is all about the quality of life a person perceives on themselves, regardless mental Illness is present or not. (Shutterstock/File)
W
orld Mental Health Day is observed every Oct. 10. This year’s theme is “Young people and mental health in a changing world”. The United Nations defines the young as those between the ages of 15 and 24. This would refer to a typical spectrum of senior high school students, undergraduate students and those who are less fortunate, such as unschooled children in Indonesia.
Indonesia is facing a tremendous challenge in securing its demographic bonus within the next 12 years, as 70 percent of the total population will be in the productive age group (between the ages of 15 and 24).
Yet, our youth today, who will become adults and are expected to be productive, already face multiple mental health issues, including bullying, trauma, depression and even suicide.
According to research from the International Center for Research on Women in 2015, 84 percent of Indonesians aged 12 to 17 years have experienced bullying in their school life.
