MINDSCAPES

Mindscapes is about the mental health of young people in Bulgaria. The initiative aims to support teenagers and young adults in their struggles with mental disorders like PTSD, ADHD, stress and anxiety, depression, addictions and more. We are making art therapy sessions in order to address the needs and find proper solutions to the problems of every individual involved in the initiative.
Together with the participants, we are creating a guide that defines the most common issues and challenges that generation Z faces today in Bulgaria. The book includes artistic self-expression of the youngsters we’re working with, psychotherapeutic analyzes and pieces of advice for coping mechanisms.

Bulgarian teenagers are the first among their peers in Europe in smoking cigarettes and cannabis, alcohol consumption and early sexual life (WHO report, 2020). Every second child in Bulgaria has been a victim of mental violence (UNICEF Bulgaria report, 2021).

Despite these and other alarming data, the Bulgarian government and civil society organizations still struggle to recognize mental health as a vital part of healthcare. The COVID-19 pandemic worsen the situation among the population and led to plenty of traumatic consequences for young people. Poverty leads to additional complications for young people such as lack of self-esteem and assertiveness, lack of faith in opportunities for development and no will to change (The share of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion is the highest in the EU with the value of 32.8% in 2018.)

Mental disorders are directly related to many addictions and the acquisition of other social problems as a cause or consequence of mental state - aggression and violence, suicide, crime, discrimination, marginalization and social exclusion. The isolation during the pandemic has worsened the mental health of a large part of the Bulgarian youth and their families. It is a time bomb that is already giving negative results in relationships, both in family and in society.