Anxiety and depression are solvable problems and it is very important to start treatment as early as possible, points out doctor Dušanka Vučinić Latas and emphasizes that the most important thing is to turn to a professional for assessment, which are exclusively clinical psychologists and psychiatrists: "We should always be careful 'to whom we give soul in hands', because in our environment there are a lot of trained and fake therapists, and that can be very dangerous for a young person in development who has some psychological problem"
"I open my eyes, I think that the physical experience of anxiety has passed. I get up and see that it is not. I feel a weight in my head and shoulders, as if I am under constant muscle inflammation", this is how twenty-one-year-old student Ivana J. from Belgrade describes how her everyday life sometimes looks like. "Sometimes I can't even fall asleep because of that tension, I stay awake until four in the morning. That tension makes me constantly rush, work, that I have to be occupied with something. I try to physically tire myself so I can sleep at night." He adds that the problem arises when he has to study, he has no concentration, he sits at the table and tries to read, but it doesn't work. As this feeling appears in stages, each time she fears his return and that holds her back. Some days he just sits in the armchair scrolling through Instagram.
According to the research conducted by the Youth Umbrella Organization of Serbia for the year 2023, as many as 52,7 percent of respondents between the ages of 15 and 30 experienced a feeling of anxiety. Stress is also more and more present, and they associate it with obligations at school, university, work, but also with events in the country.
Sanja Milićević Savić, a psychologist at the student polyclinic in Belgrade, also notices a slight increase in the number of students who turn for help. "We didn't do research and we don't know the exact statistics, but my subjective impression, and it seems to me and that of my colleagues, is that there is a slight increase," she explains. He goes on to point out that girls are more open and turn to them for help in greater numbers, while young men usually come when it's already quite difficult for them. He also adds that the support systems that young people have are very important - such as talking to family, partners and friends.
UNDER THE BURDENS OF REQUESTS
A considerable number of young people, in addition to anxiety, also face depression.
Dušanka Vučinić Latas, a clinical psychologist in the psychiatry department of the "Dragiša Mišović" hospital and a professor at the Faculty of Media and Communication, points out that there are many reasons for this and that it is difficult for young people to cope with many internal and external demands.
"Young people today are facing serious challenges. Growing up is complicated in itself, but in the modern age it is even more complicated. We live in a world in which a chronic and devastating experience of meaninglessness, helplessness, insignificance, hunger for material things is increasingly appearing," says Professor Vučinić Latas, stressing that we are often lonely and alienated, and focused only on ourselves, and in addition, young people are often "obsessed" with physical appearance and material status.
In our environment, says Dušanka Vučinić Latas, it is even more difficult because we live in a society characterized by black-and-white thinking, where there is too much aggression and hatred, and there is a perception that there are no consequences for doing nothing and that morality is unimportant. "In all of this, it is very difficult to build an identity and a value system, because it is constantly attacked from the outside by devaluation."
Depressive thoughts in young people that Dr. Vučinić Latas comes across in her practice most often include an overly negative self-perception, a distorted sense of guilt because of some things they have done or are doing, a sense of meaninglessness and lack of purpose in life. He adds that the symptoms of depression and anxiety are noticeable and we cannot be unaware of them.
"Anxiety is an intense negative feeling of restlessness and the feeling that something negative or catastrophic is going to happen and it overwhelms a person so much that he cannot ignore it," describes Dr. Vučinić Latas. She explains that anxiety can be free-floating - like a feeling of apprehension that constantly torments a person - and it can also intensify to the level of a panic attack, a strong fear accompanied by an inner feeling that the person will instantly die or pass out or be embarrassed in the worst possible way. "And depression is like that, it is not a feeling of sadness that lasts, but one a black hole which swallows up a young man and who no longer enjoys anything, has no strength and will for anything, sleeps badly, withdraws into himself, has dark thoughts or even thinks about harming himself", emphasizes our interlocutor.
Dušanka Vučinić Latas adds that the topic of anxiety and depression is becoming less of a taboo in society and that young people are increasingly asking for help. "One of the few good things that the covid pandemic has brought us is that there is more and more talk about the importance of mental health. Young people, especially in urban areas, find it much easier to seek help for themselves. They don't feel marked or less valuable if they go to a psychologist. In rural areas, the matter is still more complicated, the fear of being labeled - that you are 'crazy' - and stigmatized is, unfortunately, still present."
PROFESSIONAL PERSON THE ONLY RIGHT WAY
According to KOMS research, young people most often share their problems with each other. Society is often the only address to which they entrust their problems if they cannot solve them themselves. They do not turn to their parents for help so as not to burden them. Those who close in on themselves are not rare either. Dr. Vučinić Latas explains that depression and anxiety negatively affect the relationship with the environment of those who struggle with the aforementioned conditions.
"Young people have difficulties in relationships with their peers, they feel isolated, lonely, less valuable, as if they are alone in the world. Due to anxiety, they avoid various situations. If they are depressed, they have no strength and energy for any activity," she points out. Furthermore, he adds that in such situations education also suffers, parents become angry or worried, the whole family begins to function differently. Friends lose patience, love relationships are broken, ambitions are abandoned... Of course, not everyone reacts the same way.
"Again, some young people turn to their parents, a teacher they trust or a close friend. They are often surprised how many of their peers have a similar problem. Some others hide, look for solutions on the Internet and thus often waste precious time." Dušanka Vučinić Latas emphasizes that anxiety and depression are solvable problems and that it is very important to start treatment as early as possible: "They are treated with psychotherapy and drugs, sometimes with a combination. The most important thing is to contact a professional person for assessment, which is exclusively clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. We should always be careful about 'who we entrust our soul to', because there are a lot of trained and fake therapists in our midst, and that can be very dangerous for a young, developing person who has some psychological problem."
LACK OF SYSTEMIC CONCERN
Nenad B, a twenty-two-year-old student living in Belgrade, describes his depressive episodes as like a movie break. He was diagnosed with depression. He encountered suicidal thoughts more than once. There were days when he felt completely empty, he kept telling himself that he was worthless and didn't deserve to live. "At that moment, I couldn't afford some little thing that triggered me to feel worthless. Later in psychotherapy, after calming down, we determined the real reasons for the feeling of worthlessness", he says.
"It is also important to find a psychotherapist to whom we can open up," Nenad points out. Also, when he started to be treated, it took a certain amount of time until they found the right therapy for him. His experiences from the Clinic for Psychiatric Diseases "Dr. Laza Lazarevic" and then the student polyclinic in Belgrade (Institute for Student Health Care) are positive.
Many young people, in addition to state institutions, decide to seek help from private psychotherapists and psychologists. One of them is Ivana J., who states that before going to a private psychotherapist, she tried to seek help in a state institution, but she was unable to solve the problem.
"First I sought help at the health center in the children's department. After I told the psychologist about my problems, he told me that I should fall in love and find a boyfriend. Since I didn't feel well, I looked for a private psychologist", says Ivana J. However, a short-term improvement followed. "After I found another psychotherapist, I finally saw some change and progress. It is important to find a doctor who suits us personally."
Her experience is that private doctors are more dedicated, because they can dedicate themselves more than it is the case in state institutions, but again this requires serious financial costs that many cannot afford.
Finally, the mentioned KOMS report says that young people have the feeling that the environment does not listen to their problems, that mental health care must be more accessible and - that institutions do nothing to ensure systemic care.
Sanja Milićević, a psychologist at the student polyclinic, explains how the appointment process works in their institution: "The patient expresses his wish at the general practitioner, says what the problem is, and gets a referral and an appointment for a psychologist or psychiatrist." Three psychiatrists and two psychologists work here, so it's relatively quick - within a week to ten days - it's their turn, so it's not complicated from that point of view. I consider the existence of communication between doctors and psychologists to be an advantage", points out Sanja Milićević. However, he explains that there are cases when someone makes an appointment for the first time and does not show up at all, perhaps precisely because he does not know who is waiting for him. "If we were to schedule appointments in person and if young people saw that the person across the street is not looking at them suspiciously, labeling them, it would probably be easier," he concludes. The average session lasts 45 minutes. He says that they try and manage to meet everyone who comes and needs a conversation. On the other hand, five experts out of about 200.000 students, as many as there are in all higher education institutions in Belgrade, sounds really small.
Why is there nothing else between the overcome regime and the changes? What does the regime mean when it says it is defending Serbia? Why is the Student Movement indomitable? Who has the knowledge and real experience, and who leads without a day of work experience outside of politics? And why students win
After almost two years of protests, hundreds of kilometers walked, arrests, persecution and unprecedented social mobilization, Serbia is holding elections that could mark the end of a political era. Sociologist Marija Babović tells "Vreme" that the hope for change has not been so great since October 5, 2000, but she also warns of the danger that, if changes are not made, the country will face an even tougher authoritarian regime.
Their only weapon now is the media they control: like, we don't have an agenda, which is not true; as, we will betray the national interest, which is not true. One of their arguments is that we are afraid to go to the debate with Vučić. They do not understand that it is their punishment. This is a punishment for Aleksandar Vučić, who for 14 years conducted exclusively a monologue. For fourteen years he did not allow anyone any kind of dialogue, and now he would like to be rewarded or pardoned with the opportunity to talk to us. Well, he won't be able to. What he sowed is now reaping
These elections are not elections about Serbia's membership in the European Union, Kosovo and Metohija, gay marriage, tax policy or any other single political issue. Although parties on the fringes of political power try to impose these themes, at the heart of the upcoming political election is a much simpler dilemma: change or preserve the existing order. For more than a year now, surveys have shown that this is the primary dilemma on the ballot
In the RS, 19.800 people registered for the elections in Serbia, who will be able to vote at 28 polling stations. It remains unknown how many of them will cross the Drina on October 25 and vote in Serbia. In any case, I do not believe that the voters from Republika Srpska are the ones who will decide the winner of the elections in Serbia. Realistically, the voters from Republika Srpska can influence a little, but it seems that they are symbolically very important to both Vučić and the opposition.
There is, literally, no difference between the one who claims it is day in the middle of the night, or the one who claims to be a giraffe, from the claims we read on billboards: that Vučić is working to unify Serbs and that Serbia is doing better and better day by day.
The pre-election arrests due to the alleged "overthrow of the state" testify to the regime's panic. The bad news for them is - they can't arrest the whole people who decided to defend themselves from progressive beatings and election theft
The ring that tightens around Ćaciland Student list is getting narrower. Because there are more and more spoiled people who see the false prophet for what he is: a street obscener who is fighting Serbia
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