What is causing so many young people in Finland to feel unwell? That's the question daily Helsingin-Sanomat (HS) asks on its front page on Friday.
As many as one in four young people in Finland suffers from a mental health disorder, according to the latest data from the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
Figures show that symptoms of depression and anxiety have increased particularly among secondary school students in recent years. While a significant factor, the pandemic alone does not explain the scale of the problem, HS writes.
Psychiatry professor at the University of Tampere, Riittakerttu Kaltiala tells HS that one key factor is increased estrangement between children and parents and other trusted adults.
Social media is also to blame. Online platforms are placing increasing pressure on young people's body image and identity formation, not to mention the hate speech and bullying that takes place on their screens.
"One hand there is the illusion that you could be anything. But on the flip side is the idea that you yourself, are nobody," Kaltiala says.
The increase in mental health problems is one of the issues that candidates running for the January regional elections will have to find a solution to. In the future, regional authorities (except for Helsinki) will be in charge of social and healthcare services.
EU leaders have warned Russia of serious consequences if the country takes military action against Ukraine, Tampere daily Aamulehti reports. Following summit discussions, leaders of the bloc concluded that the consequences could include coordinated action by member states.
On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden warned Russia of unprecedented sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) stressed that a diplomatic solution to the situation ought to be sought first, according to the paper.
"Sanctions were also discussed, although not at a detailed or concrete level at this meeting, but we clearly showed that we are ready to act if action needs to be taken," Marin said following the summit in Brussels, which concluded on Friday.
Helsinkians may have to wait weeks before being allocated an appointment for a booster jab while residents at a neighboring city, like Espoo, are able to get jabbed at pop-up vaccination stations the next day, Helsinki resident Pasi Nieminen tells Ilta-Sanomat (IS).
"How can your place of residence be such a determining factor, considering that this is about a transmissible disease that is a danger to the general public? The principle of equality is not being respected at all here," Nieminen wonders..
The City of Helsinki's medical director, Timo Lukkarinen, tells the evening tabloid that there is no reason to worry about unequal treatment between Helsinki and Espoo residents.
"Of course, if you happen to call at the right time, when the system has just registered cancellations or additional resources have been allocated for vaccinations and new times have been added, you can get vaccinated on the same day. The situation is however almost the same in Helsinki and Espoo," Lukkarinen says.
According to Lukkarinen, all members belonging to risk groups should receive their third doses by early January with appointments for those under 60 to open in the coming days.
With Omicron cases on the rise and only a week to go until Christmas Eve, Swedish-speaking daily Hufvudstadsbladet (HBL) went out to town to ask what people in Helsinki think about the Covid pandemic situation and how it might affect this year's holiday celebrations.
Victoria Schauman and Christoffer Linder told the paper they are not overly worried about the situation and intend to take a home test prior to visiting their families.
"It feels like a new variant is coming all the time, now Omicron is the latest one. One just gets used to it," Schauman says.
Meanwhile, Linder admits suffering from coronavirus news fatigue.
"I'm not worried. I'm just tired of this shit," he told HBL.
For more on Covid's possible impact on Christmas, listen to this week's All Points North podcast.
You can listen to the full podcast using the embedded player here, via Yle Areena, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or on your usual podcast player using the RSS feed.
TetraSys Oy.