On February 10, a 17-year-old minor committed suicide in her home in Gjirokastra. Preliminary investigations suggested that the girl was driven to the final act by constant bullying and mistreatment at school. This was the 6th suicide case to occur in Albania during the first months of 2025.
In the last four years, 598 people have ended their lives, while 487 others have attempted suicide.
One of the darkest periods was 2024, which recorded the highest number of suicides in the last four years, with 112 cases. According to experts, the main factors influencing the increase in suicides are numerous, including socio-economic situation, mental health and social influences, such as bullying and violence.
Despite the cases, it seems that the country lacks mental health infrastructure. The lack of centers and psychiatrists means that the phenomenon is at best neglected.
Why do they commit suicide?!
The year 2024 marked the highest number of suicides committed in Albania, with 112 cases since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Experts say that the causes of suicide are often linked to external factors, such as slander, unfair accusations and toxic environments. The group most at risk for this phenomenon are adolescents and young people, who are in the most difficult period of their lives, when they are exposed to numerous stress and challenges. Suicides are a symptom of deep social and psychological problems that require urgent attention and treatment.
For psychologist Elona Mustafaraj, the increase in suicidal behavior is linked to various factors, including mood disorders and depression, which are often linked to socioeconomic and personal situations.
Mustafaraj emphasizes that these behaviors are an indicator of the increasing number of individuals with mental health problems.
“From a psychological perspective, this is an indicator of the increase in the number of individuals who have mental health problems and, in general, mood disorders, depression. We may also have cases where there may be other elements of mood disorders, not necessarily depression,” she says. Meanwhile, according to sociologist Gëzim Tushi, acts of suicide have become a phenomenon that is expanding even more in modern Albanian society.
The sociologist also notes that suicides are often the result of external factors, such as bullying, violence, poverty, and unemployment, that create unbearable conditions for individuals, leading them to make fatal decisions.
“Slander, bullying, unfair accusations, interference in private and intimate life, violence, verbal and psychological aggression, poverty and chronic unemployment, incurable diseases and terminal conditions are some of the factors that require the ability to manage them while avoiding the fatal solution of suicide,” says the sociologist, emphasizing that another reason why suicides have become a phenomenon is related to the creation of toxic environments due to solitary living, divorces and domestic violence.
Lack of services
Data from the Institute of Public Health (ISP) show that suicides have been an ongoing problem for Albanian society.
In 2022, 0.8% of total deaths in the country were caused by suicide, while 130 deaths were due to mental illness, with the 20-44 age group representing the majority.
Sociologist Tushi says that suicidal acts are mainly undertaken because the individual is in conditions of loneliness, depression, and a breakdown in dialogue with himself.
“The network of community mental health services must be strengthened, the numerical and professional capacities of psychologists in schools must be strengthened, more physical activity must be encouraged, and less dependence on classic drugs, but especially on the “new drug” of virtual connections that are bringing bullying, aggression, pressure, and more,” concludes sociologist Tushi.
In an effort to address this problem, several community mental health centers have been established, but Albania is facing a severe shortage of psychiatrists.
According to official data from the quotas covered by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, at least 8 doctors are pursuing specialization in adult psychiatry and 4 in child and adolescent psychiatry.
Despite this, some centers have been established in cities such as Tirana, Elbasan, and Vlora, the capacities of these centers are limited.
Psychiatrists report a heavy workload, treating up to 25 patients per day, a number that has an impact on the quality of service.
“A doctor should have a limited number of visits to be as effective as possible, to make the best decisions, and to draw the best conclusions for the case. When I studied in Italy, psychiatry did not treat more than 5 to 6 cases a day. Here I treat an average of 20-25 patients a day,” Arjana Rreli, a psychiatrist at the Community Mental Health Center near polyclinic number 3, tells “shteg.org”.
Despite population growth in cities like Tirana, mental health infrastructure seems to be unable to cope with the needs of a city with over a million inhabitants.
“Since Tirana, the capital, is a metropolis, it is a city that expands every day and increases in population, our structures have remained three, both in Tirana, which had 400 thousand inhabitants, and in Tirana, which today has over 1 million. Therefore, the increase in the number of inhabitants presupposes that the probability of having mental health problems in this population is also higher. The flow to us has increased from year to year”, concludes the doctor, Arjana Rreli.
Research data shows that 1 in 3 people (regardless of age) show signs of depression. Physical and psychological violence is reported to be prevalent in 50% of childhood abuse cases.
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