Many young people struggling to juggle everything after lockdown

The Cabinet scrapping the coronavirus restrictions did not immediately solve young people's mental health problems. The "Alles Oke?" support line where young people could go for a listening ear receives just as many calls as during the coronavirus lockdowns. Though topics have shifted from loneliness and depression to stress and struggling to fit in, RTV Utrecht reports.

After two years of having little to no social life and distance learning, some students struggle to keep all balls in the air now that things are back to normal. "The coronavirus was sometimes also an excuse," said Dominique Bekke, a supervisor at the support line. It was easy to blame poor grades on distance learning. "Now that [in-person lectures] are possible again, the stress to perform increases."

The broadcaster polled its Instagram followers on how they were coping with going back to normal. Most said they were doing well, but 30 percent said they were still trying to get used to life without the coronavirus restrictions. 85 percent of them said they experience stress, 44 percent of whom are stressed often. 

The psychologists of MIND Korrelatie from Amersfoort also noticed that many young people are struggling to juggle everything and are more stressed as a result. "People have the idea that they now have to catch up on everything. A backlog at school or work. Contacts with friends and colleagues," Valerie Ritchie, psychologist and counselor at MIND Korrelati. "Young people have been understimulated for two years. They are used to more rest and less to do. Now they often have a full plate again. And have to pick up their social life and school or work life completely again."