Young people's mental health: the paradox of choice

A new study looks into the mental health of young people in the Faroes.

The study, titled “The paradox of endless options and unrealistic expectations: understanding the impact on youth mental health” was conducted by the Faroese Board of Public Health last year.

“A recurring theme in our interviews with the young people was that the endless options available to them can have a negative effect on their mental health,” says co-author Monika Mohr.

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These options include what to study, where to live, what job to choose, when to have children and when to settle down with a spouse.

“Many of them worry about making the right decisions at the right time. This fills them with a sense of having to rush through life, a feeling that life is a task that has to be completed,” she explains.

“They worry that if they make the wrong decision, they may end up as a failure. This can create a great deal of pressure on many young people today.”

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Many young people feel that they have high expectations to live up to, both academically and in their personal lives. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem.

“Everything is portrayed in a positive light on social media. People’s achievements are visible to everyone on social media. This creates an ideal that can be difficult to live up to for many young people,” explains Mohr.

“Our study indicates that this kind of comparison has a particularly negative effect on young women’s mental health.”

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The study also found that living in a small society can have both positive and negative effects on young people's mental health.

One negative effect of limited small-scale living, the study found, was that the choice of education is often restricted by the limited work opportunities in the Faroes, especially outside the central region.

The study suggests a need to address the factors that contribute to the poor mental health of young people in the Faroes.

This could include providing more support for young people, reducing the pressure on them to succeed and creating more opportunities for them to pursue their dreams.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

English version by prosa.fo.

More Faroese News in English.