More young people at risk of suicide, say doctors

Emergency hospital admissions of young people for psychiatric problems are on the increase in Switzerland, according to a report by national broadcaster SRF.  Problems include anxiety disorders, eating disorders, depression and suicidal thoughts, but especially attempted suicides.  Figures from the University Psychiatric Hospital in Zurich, for example, show the number of emergency cases involving children and adolescents rising steadily from 46 in 2007 to nearly 650 in 2017.  The hospital’s chief child and adolescent psychiatrist Dagmar Pauli says 90 percent of cases involve self-harm. "The figures are alarming and show that young people facing life problems are more suicidal than a few years ago," says Pauli. He believes that social media may play a part.  In-patient cases also reached a new high in 2017 at the Zurich hospital.  + Read more about teenage suicide in Switzerland  The report (in German) also cites rising numbers of young people in psychiatric units in Bern and ...