Teenagers in Greece are increasingly left alone with the crisis

Tragedy in Ilioupoli has again raised the issue of adolescent mental health in Greece. Experts ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ warn: a crisis rarely occurs suddenly.

Tragedy in Ilioupoliwhere two 17-year-old schoolgirls found themselves in a deadly situation, shocked Greek society and again raised a painful question: how protected are children and adolescents in Greece from psychological crises that they can no longer cope with on their own?

After the incident, experts ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ – an organization working in the field of suicide prevention and supporting 24-hour Suicide crisis intervention line 1018said that such cases should not leave society indifferent. “How do two underage girls get to the point where they end up on the edge together? This issue should not leave any society indifferent.”says the position of experts, quoted by Greek media, including Keep Talking Greece And EfSyn.

Experts emphasize that self-harming and suicidal behavior is usually not “sudden” or an unexplained reaction. More often we are talking about a complex and multifactorial process, where psychological vulnerability, genetic factors, family and school environment, a sense of security, loneliness, emotional overload and the inability to get help in a timely manner are intertwined.

According to Suicide Observatories ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑcases of suicide among minors have been recorded in Greece over recent years. What is especially alarming is that already in the first months 2026 growth was noted in the age group 15–19 years old. These data, according to experts, show the need to strengthen mechanisms for prevention, early intervention and support for the mental health of children and adolescents.

Alarming statistics

According to data published with reference to ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑthe statistics of suicide among children and adolescents in Greece in recent years are as follows:

• 2022: 4 children aged 12–14 years old and 7 teenagers aged 15–19 years old;
• 2023: 1 child aged 12–14 years old and 9 teenagers aged 15–19 years old;
• 2024: 3 children aged 12–14 years old and 7 teenagers aged 15–19 years old;
• 2025: 1 child aged 12–14 years old and 6 teenagers aged 15–19 years old;
• 2026: already 1 child aged 12–14 years old and 8 teenagers aged 15–19 years old.

These numbers should not be turned into panic, but they cannot be brushed aside as rare exceptions. Especially when it comes to teenagers, whose crisis often develops quietly: without loud statements, without signals obvious to adults, sometimes behind the façade of ordinary school life, exams, correspondence and outwardly normal behavior.

CLIMAC separately emphasizes: in a particular case, one cannot make arbitrary conclusions without a full-fledged scientific and investigative analysis. But such tragedies show the main thing – children and adolescents experiencing serious psychological pain should receive professional support before the situation becomes critical. Sounds obvious. Like many obvious things, society usually understands this too late.

Why is it so difficult for teenagers to ask for help?

One of the key questions after the tragedy in Ilioupoli sounds especially difficult: why is it so difficult for teenagers to talk about their pain in time and seek help?

Experts ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ note that mental vulnerability does not form in emptiness. It is influenced by the quality of relationships, feelings of safety, emotional availability of adults, family and school climate, and the presence of support structures. If a teenager feels unheard, judged, devalued, or simply misunderstood, they may withdraw at a time when help is needed most.

During adolescence, emotional pain is often expressed indirectly. This could be a sudden change in behavior, refusal to communicate, constant fatigue, irritability, loss of interest in usual activities, phrases about the meaninglessness of life, or a feeling that there is no future. But adults often attribute this to “awkward age”character, laziness or school whims. Convenient, fast and catastrophically dangerous.

In the case of the tragedy in Ilioupoli Greek media reported that one of the schoolgirls left a letter to her parents, where she spoke about her many years of difficult psychological condition and fear of panhellenic exams. Some publications cited fragments of this letter, but in such topics it is extremely important not to turn the child’s personal pain into emotional material for consumption. It is more important for society not to parse every phrase, but to understand why a teenager could feel so lonely facing the future.

Exams, crises and life without a safety margin

On social networks, many users drew attention not only to the individual tragedy, but also to the broader background in which the current generation of teenagers is growing up. These children lived through a financial crisis from an early age, then endured a pandemic and lockdowns, and now see families facing high costs of living, expensive rent, tired parents and a constant sense of instability.

Added to this is the pressure of school and exams. In Greece panhellenic exams are often perceived by teenagers not as one of the stages of education, but as an almost final verdict on their future life. For an adult, this may seem like an exaggeration. For a child who is already depressed or anxious, such a milestone can become a psychological wall.

The problem is not the exams themselves. The problem is that they often create an atmosphere where failure seems like the end of life rather than part of growing up. If there is no school psychologist, available help, an attentive adult and a safe space for conversation, the teenager is left alone with internal pressure. And here society, school and state can no longer pretend that this is a private family problem.

Users on social media also pointed out the lack of psychologists in schools and the lack of permanent support structures for children. This is not a minor issue. Prevention begins not when the tragedy has already occurred, but when the student for the first time stops coping, for the first time becomes silent, for the first time says that he doesn’t see the point, and next to him is not an indifferent system, but a person who knows what to do.

Prevention is not just a response to tragedy

ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ emphasizes that suicide prevention among children and adolescents cannot be limited to the subsequent management of tragic events. We need systemic strengthening of mental health structures for children and adolescents, training families and school communities to recognize psychological stress early, removing the stigma from seeking help, and developing early intervention mechanisms before a critical moment occurs.

This sounds like a minimum program for a normal state. But in practice, such measures require money, personnel, political will and a rejection of the convenient illusion that teenage suffering is something that will go away on its own after exams, holidays or another phrase “pull yourself together”. It won’t work. Sometimes this is how society loses children.

It is also important how the media talk about such cases. Details of the method, retelling of personal letters and emotional savoring of the tragedy can cause harm. Responsible publishing should talk about facts, risks, help and prevention, and not turn someone else’s death into a drama series. The world is already cruel enough for journalism to add gasoline to it for the sake of views.

Where to go for help

In Greece it operates 24 hours a day Suicide crisis intervention line 1018 organizations ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ. She is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is intended for people experiencing suicidal thoughts, their loved ones, as well as professionals and organizations faced with crisis situations. She reminds herself of this ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ.

In an emergency situation, you must contact 112, 166 or to the nearest medical services. If a teenager talks about an unwillingness to live, complete hopelessness, that he has become a burden, says goodbye to loved ones abruptly, gives away things, withdraws or is depressed for a long time, this cannot be considered simply “drama” or “age”. This could be a sign of real danger.

Editorial comment

Tragedy in Ilioupoli It shouldn’t remain just another piece of news that society will discuss for two days, be horrified and forget. Here we are not just talking about two schoolgirls and not just about a specific family. We are talking about a system in which a teenager can be in a psychological crisis for a long time, but help comes too late or does not come at all.

Greece likes to talk about the family as the main pillar of society. But families alone cannot replace school psychologists, government agencies, accessible mental health and psychological services, trained teachers, and a culture in which asking for help is not considered weakness. Especially when families themselves have been living for years under the pressure of crises, debts, high costs of living and fear for the future of their children.

The worst thing in such stories is not only the loss itself, but the feeling that there could have been signals, but they were not heard. Therefore, the main question today should not sound like a sensational “why did they do this?”otherwise: what needs to change in schools, families, medicine and society so that the next teenager is not left alone with the thought that there is no way out?

The answer to this question will not emerge from moments of silence, official condolences and short bursts of public sympathy. It will only appear when children’s mental health ceases to be a topic of post-tragedy announcements and becomes a permanent part of school, social and medical policies. Until then, each such story will sound like an indictment of the adult world, which again did not have time.

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