More and more young Quebecers are using antidepressants, particularly to counter anxiety, a phenomenon that worries pediatricians who deplore that mental health help resources are often difficult to access.
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The number of young people aged 17 and under who are prescribed these medications continued to increase in 2022, despite the post-pandemic context: there are now nearly 8,200, an increase of 10% compared to the year. previous (see details below).
Antidepressants can be used in cases of depression, but they can also often be used to treat anxiety disorders, indicates pediatrician Valérie Labbé.
This doctor is not surprised by these figures, which correspond to what she sees on a daily basis: a “tremendous increase” in young people “who are not doing well,” she describes.
The majority of young patients who come to her office with their parents consult her for mental health problems.
“There is a real pandemic of anxiety and distress among young people and their parents,” she says.
The first line should always be psychotherapy and psychosocial interventions, but the demand is so great that the available resources cannot meet all the needs, she adds.
Medication then becomes a “last resort” solution. “We find ourselves using it more and more often in situations where the child is very unwell and finds himself in a situation of great dysfunction,” she says.
The use of medication, which should always be accompanied by monitoring by a mental health worker, must however never be taken lightly since weaning it subsequently could be difficult, adds Dr. Labbé.
“A bandage on the sore”
The story is similar with pediatrician Jean-Benoît Bouchard. “Our young people suffer and sometimes they don’t have the psychological resources to help them,” so “we try to put a bandage on the sore,” he says.
“Doctors are probably a little more available than psychosocial workers currently,” which can explain the increase, he adds.
Prevention at school
To remedy the situation, “universal prevention” at school should be “a must “, both in primary and secondary schools and in CEGEP, says psychologist and professor at UQAM Diane Marcotte, who has set up a program to counter anxiety among CEGEP students.
The objective is to target all students to prevent mental health problems upstream, which could help “decongest individual services” which cannot meet demand, she says.
This is also an approach implemented in a primary school in Quebec, where all the students were introduced to meditation and mindfulness (see other text below) at the start of the year.
Pediatricians consulted by The newspaper for their part, remind us of the importance of good lifestyle habits, which can make a huge difference in the life of a young person.
“It’s important that young people give up cell phones and video games, play sports, eat well and sleep well,” summarizes Dr.r Bouchard.
USE OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS AMONG YOUNG QUEBECERS
Number of young people aged 17 and under
- 2022: 8196
- 2021: 7453
- 2020: 6043
- 2019: 5228
A significant increase for years
In 2014, 2931 young people used antidepressants
Source : Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec
Schools are stepping up efforts to combat anxiety among young people
In schools, initiatives are multiplying to counter anxiety among young people, sometimes as early as elementary school, as in a school in Quebec where all the students received an introductory meditation workshop at the start of the year.
In a third-year class at Saint-Michel school, located in the Sillery district, speaker Sophie Paquet asks the students why we can do meditation. Hands go up. “To calm down,” says a student. “To feel good,” answers another.
After some breathing exercises, Mme Paquet invites children to delve into their imagination to build a “hut” in their heads, where they feel good and where they can return whenever they want. Obviously, the exercise appeals to many people.
These meditation workshops, in which all students from kindergarten to sixth grade participated at the start of the year, are based on an initiative by music teacher Nathalie Bérubé, who herself has been experimenting with meditation with her students for three years. .
Sophie Paquet, from the organization Meditation at Sunrise, gives mindfulness workshops to third-year students at Saint-Michel school. In this primary school in Quebec, all the children received an introductory meditation workshop at the start of the year.
Photo Stevens LeBlanc
“I believe in it a lot, I see concrete results. It helps the students and they ask for more,” she says.
Pediatrician Valérie Labbé welcomes this type of initiative, which focuses on a universal prevention approach.
“We must come to consider interventions in schools for everyone and in particular for those who need them the most,” she says.
For her part, UQAM professor Diane Marcotte indicates that meditation “generally has positive effects on several age groups.”
However, there are “several other strategies” to prevent anxiety and depression in young people, “which can be taught by mental health workers to teachers” who can in turn pass them on to students, she indicates. .
The development of social skills is also essential, adds Ms. Marcotte.
For its part, the Association of Psychiatrists of Quebec called in 2019 for the introduction of a mental health education course in schools, a request which went unheeded.