Almost One in Three Young Germans Now Needs Psychological Help, Survey Reveals
11.06.2026 - 01:12:17 | boerse-global.de
A sweeping study of 14- to 29-year-olds finds stress and exhaustion at alarming levels, while rising fears of mental illness and surging cancer rates among younger adults add to a generation’s burden.
The survey “Youth in Germany 2026,” which polled 2,000 respondents, paints a stark picture: 29 percent say they require psychological assistance. A full 49 percent report suffering from stress, and 36 percent complain of exhaustion. The drivers named by participants are broad: general societal crises, the rapid advance of artificial intelligence, and a shortage of affordable housing.
Among schoolchildren the situation looks even more entrenched. The DAK Prevention Radar 2024, a separate survey of 23,000 students in grades 5 through 10, found that 55 percent feel exhausted. Since the 2017/18 school year, the share of pupils reporting at least two physical or mental complaints per week has risen by 25 percent. Meanwhile, 31.5 percent of students indicated increased feelings of loneliness.
Health itself has become a source of pressure. Behaviours meant to promote well-being—sleep, exercise, nutrition, mental-health routines—are increasingly experienced as chores or items on a to-do list. Rather than building resilience, this optimisation drive generates fresh stress, according to a report by the Frankfurter Rundschau, which drew on data from the ASU Arbeitsmedizin (occupational medicine association).
Compounding the mental-health crisis is a paradox: despite the intense focus on health, fear of serious illness has hit record levels. A Forsa survey commissioned by DAK-Gesundheit in November 2024 found that fear of cancer (73 percent), dementia (55 percent) and stroke (52 percent) reached a 15-year high across all age groups. Among 14- to 29-year-olds, 54 percent now fear mental illness—a 9 percentage-point jump from the previous year.
Doctors are also puzzled by rising rates of physical disease in younger populations. In industrialised nations, colorectal cancer is increasing steadily among people under 50. In the United States, physicians have recorded an annual increase of 3 percent among 20- to 49-year-olds since 2010. Skin cancer cases are also climbing sharply. Researchers point to possible causes such as ultra-processed foods or environmental factors, but many affected patients are athletic and lean, ruling out an unhealthy lifestyle as the sole explanation.
The statutory health insurer DAK-Gesundheit responded in April 2025 with a new preventive-care package for children and adolescents. Roughly 5,500 medical practices now offer screenings for early detection of depression and for addictive social-media use. The move comes against a background in which about 1.3 million 10- to 17-year-olds use social media in a risky manner.
Economic anxieties add another layer. The Interhyp Affordability Study from April 2026 reported that 46 percent of Germans consider real estate barely affordable. Yet the desire for homeownership remains strong: a survey by the Association of Private Building Societies in June 2026 showed that 82 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds want to own a home, while two-thirds fear poverty in old age.
Experts recommend tighter control of media consumption, building social contacts and targeted resilience training. Psychotherapists note that stress often arises when effort is perceived as pointless or threatening, or when individuals feel a loss of control over their lives.
