The Hope Phone has attended to nearly 25,000 people since the pandemic: "The taboo of silence was broken"

PalmThe Hope Line has warned of a significant increase in emotional distress, especially after the covid-19 pandemic, in addition to the psychological impact of prolonged care, a reality that is "invisible" and disproportionately affects women. According to data presented this Tuesday by the organization, on the occasion of its 40th anniversary, the Hope Line in the Balearic Islands has attended a total of 98,540 requests for help since 1986, and close to 25% –24,735– of the demands have been concentrated in the last six years, as pointed out by spokesperson Lino Salas.

During this time, requests reached 5,000 in 2022, after a previous decline, and now stand at around 3,000 annually.

Salas pointed out that the pandemic "broke the taboo of silence" surrounding mental and emotional health problems, and contributed to many public figures publicly admitting they needed help during this period.

This data corresponds to what the spokesperson has described as the "third stage" of the Hope Line, in which, in addition to the pandemic, tools such as the Hope Chat expanded the number of users, with a notable increase among people between 12 and 35 years old, who use this option more than the phone 971.461.112.

"Serious psychological problems"

According to the spokesperson, the launch of the chat has detected "serious psychological problems and addictive behaviors, especially among minors and young people" caused by the use of screens, mobile phones, and new technologies. This data is related to the lack of control and legal regulation on platforms and the lack of educational work that, in his opinion, should be done in this regard.

The third stage corresponds to the period from 2020 to the present, when, with the pandemic, "other mental and emotional health problems that were hidden have emerged". Furthermore, there was a change in usage data, as in this period 58% of the callers were women, compared to 42% of men.

The president of the Teléfono de la Esperanza, Maria Antònia Mateu, explained that this year's campaign highlights the psychological situation of people with mental health problems caring for others, under the slogan 'Caring is exhausting'.

'Let's take care of those who take care of us'

In this way, the service, under the slogan 'We care for those who care for us', has recalled the importance of caring for caregivers. "Many caregivers delay asking for help because they feel guilty about thinking of their own well-being," he explained.

Thus, he highlighted that 87% of non-professional caregivers are women, a figure that is repeated in the workplace, where eight out of ten professionals in the care system are also women. "Talking about this exhaustion does not mean stopping caring, on the contrary, it is key to preventing burnout from becoming chronic," assured Mateu.

He also highlighted the situation of people in irregular situations. "There is a young migrant who calls the phone in the afternoons so as not to feel alone," he commented before adding that since the year 2000, immigration has been one of the new origins of mental health problems detected by the service.