INEM Logs Rise in Mental Health Calls, With Children as Young as 8
Portugal's INEM has received 34 706 calls for psychological help this year, 2 830 involving under-18s. Warning signs and support lines in Portugal.
Portugal’s national emergency medical service, INEM (Instituto Nacional de Emergência Médica), says calls for psychological help are rising sharply, and a growing number come from children and teenagers. Up to Oct. 19 this year, its urgent patient referral center, CODU, had received 34 706 requests for help, CNN Portugal reported. In 2 830 of them the person was under 18, and the youngest was eight years old.
If you or someone near you is in crisis in Portugal, call 112. The SNS 24 line is 808 24 24 24, and the national suicide prevention and psychological support line is 1411.
What the INEM and INE figures show
INEM’s count covers three stages of suicidal behavior: ideation (thoughts about dying or ending one’s life), intent (a decision to act) and attempts. All three rose across every age group, according to the service. Of the requests received this year, 419 ended in a death by suicide and 2 390 involved a suicide attempt. Those totals are not broken down by age.
The most recent official statistics from the National Statistics Institute (INE) cover 2024 and show deaths from intentional self-harm going up in all age groups. The increase is steepest among young adults between 20 and 30. By region, Greater Lisbon and the North had the most such deaths in 2024, with the Centro region and the Setúbal peninsula also standing out. INE has not yet released figures for 2025 or 2026.
Why it matters for families and schools
Sónia Cunha, who heads INEM’s psychology office, told the broadcaster that young people describe hopelessness, loneliness and trouble solving problems or putting feelings into words. In most cases, she said, the wish is to end the suffering rather than to die. Emotional problems and statements about wanting to end one’s life already appear at school age, before children fully understand death, so such statements should always be taken seriously.
Inês Rothes, a psychologist and professor at the University of Porto’s Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences and president of the Portuguese Society of Suicidology (SPS), said there is almost never a single cause. She listed mental disorders, above all depression, plus anxiety, substance use, abuse and trauma, problems adjusting to school or university, loneliness and easy access to lethal means. Making those means harder to reach is one form of prevention, she said.
On social media, Rothes said the effect depends on how it is used and can even be protective. Heavy use cuts down face-to-face contact and weakens traditional support networks. “Being connected is different from building relationships,” she said. Idealized lives online feed anxiety through comparison, and cyberbullying follows victims home, so school no longer ends when the bell rings. She also pointed to economic pressure on families, including living costs rising faster than wages and young adults struggling to afford housing, and to daily news of wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Warning signs the specialists describe
- Earlier suicidal behavior, which Rothes called one of the most important signs.
- Changes in behavior: persistent irritability or sadness, poorer concentration, changes in sleep or appetite, withdrawal from others.
- Talk of hopelessness or of dying, or saying the world would be better off without them.
- Losing interest in things the person used to enjoy, such as a sport.
- Giving away personal belongings that matter a great deal to them.
Rothes called the idea that people who talk about suicide will not act on it a dangerous myth. Some signs can look like ordinary teenage behavior, which makes early detection harder.
How the specialists say to respond
Both psychologists said people should ask directly whether someone has thought about ending their life, listen closely and without judgment, and stay with the person or agree on a safety plan. Cunha said the right number is 112: INEM psychologists can go to the scene when there is immediate risk, when help is refused or when an attempt is under way. She invoked the saying that “it takes a village to raise a child” and described family, school and sports clubs working as one network.
Rothes said teachers and school assistants are well placed to spot warning signs because they spend years with the same students. She also urged support for parents, saying communication with children has to begin when they are small.
Other lines listed by CNN Portugal: SOS Voz Amiga at 213 544 545, 912 802 669, 963 524 660 or 930 712 500 (daily, 15:30 to 00:30), and Conversa Amiga at 808 237 327 or 210 027 159 (daily, 15:00 to 22:00).
Source: CNN Portugal
