– Many people probably find it difficult to take the step of asking for help. One feels it is a weakness. But I would rather say that it is a strength, says Henrik Moholdt. Henrik had his life in order, and all the prerequisites for being happy. Three years ago, he nevertheless felt that something was not as it should be. – I didn’t quite know what it was, but the months went by and people around me noticed that I was behaving differently. I became more distant, and dropped out of conversations, he says. He knew he should be happy, but he couldn’t. Henrik Moholdt felt that he was not good enough, and needed someone to talk to. Photo: Caroline Utti / news It took time before Moholdt consulted a psychologist to talk about his problems. – It seemed very taboo to talk about, and I felt that I had no boys my own age I could talk to about my problems, he says. Will make it easier to seek help The Government will now try to make it easier for young people to seek the help they need. So that more people like Henrik feel they can have someone to talk to. At Ungdomstorget in Drammen, they have gathered several of the municipality’s services related to health, social services and mental health in one place, and made it free for everyone between 13 and 25 to get help. To find out how to get young people to find the help they need, as early as possible, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre visited the Youth Square in Drammen to learn about the offer. Jonas Gahr Støre visits the Youth Square in Drammen Photo: Cecilie Valentine Brekke / news – We need to do this better to reach our young people. If we reach them earlier, I think we can solve the problems before it becomes a diagnosis. Last year, 29 per cent of girls at upper secondary school had problems with their mental health, for boys it was 12 per cent. And the proportions were increasing in both groups. Although more girls report mental health problems, boys are overrepresented in the suicide statistics. In 2020, there were three times as many boys in the age group 20-29 years who took their own lives, compared to girls, figures from FHI show. Collecting everything in one place Ali Husseyni is one of those who have received help at Ungdomstorget. They helped him with his CV and writing a job application, but he also had someone to talk to when he felt lonely. – It is not always so easy to talk to friends or girlfriends about it. But here you can find someone to talk to if you feel lonely, he says. Ali Husseyni is happy that he can come to Ungdomstorget to get help. Photo: Cecilie Valentine Brekke / news It is the access to several services in one place that Støre wants to include in the upcoming plan for mental health. – When you come in the door, and you have people with different experiences on either side of the aisle, you can get help from several places without wasting a lot of time, he says and continues: – Many people often give up when they have to use a lot of time to go from service to service, so the square idea is very good. The government’s plan is to be presented in 2023. Calling for investment as early as in kindergarten Henrik Moholdt also believes that gathering the help services in one place, and making it easy for young people to seek them out, is the key to preventing good mental health. – It’s almost unbelievable how much help you can get, and then it’s a shame that people don’t know that the offers exist. He also hopes that there will be an investment in more knowledge about mental health among those who work with children as young as kindergarten age. – What is most provocative to me is that there is no talk of mental health on studies as a teacher or kindergarten teacher. They have much more important roles than they might think, he says.
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The government is working on an escalation plan to help young people struggling with mental health – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
