SputnikNews: [2] One in three Finnish students reported suffering from symptoms of anxiety and depression, with the rate even higher among women. Nevertheless, this doesn’t prevent the Nordic country from topping the rating of the world’s happiest countries for four years running.

[3] A Finnish research study into the health and mental well-being of higher education students has identified an alarming rate of symptoms of anxiety and depression.Of the over 6,000 students questioned by the Finnish Student Health and Wellbeing Survey (KOTT), carried out by the Public Health Authority THL and the Social Insurance Institute Kela every four years, wholly one in three appeared to have mental issues, with the proportion among women reaching 40 percent, the newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet reported.

[4] The study further found that female students were three times more likely to develop an eating disorder than their male counterparts.THL’s Development Manager Suvi Parikka explained this with the increased workload during the coronavirus era, yet emphasised that mental strain and symptoms of anxiety and depression were on the increase even before the pandemic. According to her, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may have merely exacerbated these issues.
The increased workload may be due to challenges arising from remote learning, which also causes isolation and loneliness.