Islanders are more than twice as likely to be prescribed medication for anxiety and insomnia compared to people in England, according to new figures – with 8% of the island’s population holding a prescription compared to just 3% over the water.

The Mental Health Profile, published on Thursday morning by Public Health, aims to paint a picture of the mental health and wellbeing of islanders.

It shows that 8% of the island’s population were prescribed hypnotics or anxiolytics – more than double the rate in England, where 3% of people received the same medications.

Meanwhile, the prescribing rate for antidepressants in Jersey was 13% – slightly lower than England’s figure of 15%.

The proportion of people receiving antipsychotics remained broadly in line with previous years, according to the report.

Here’s what else the data tells us…

Incapacity allowance claims for mental health

In 2024, mental health issues such as stress, depression or anxiety were the reason behind 16% of all short-term incapacity benefit claims – up from 10% in 2016.

The highest number of these claims came from women aged 35 to 39, and men aged 40 to 44.

Overall, a higher number of women made mental health claims than men.

Emergency Department attendances

There were 550 visits to Jersey’s Emergency Department last year for mental health-related problems – down from a peak of 930 in 2018.

Of those 550 visits, 245 were due to self-harm, matching the highest level recorded in a decade.

Adult mental wellbeing

Life satisfaction scores remained steady overall, with most people rating their happiness, sense of purpose and satisfaction with life at around 7 out of 10.

But 30% of people said they felt highly anxious the day before they were surveyed.

People who said they were struggling financially were more likely to report low well-being.

Longstanding conditions

Among those with longstanding health conditions, 27% said they had low life satisfaction.

This compares to 8% of people without any long-term health issues.

Perceptions on mental health

Just 43% of islanders said they knew where to access support for adult mental health.

That number dropped to 36% for support aimed at children and young people.

And two-thirds of adults said they would feel comfortable talking to a family member about their mental health.

Children’s mental wellbeing

Younger islanders are showing signs of higher anxiety and lower well-being.

In 2024, girls in Years 10 and 12 were the most likely to report low happiness.

Among Year 12 girls, 37% said they felt unhappy, compared to 17% of boys the same age.

Over half of all secondary school girls said they worried often or most days about what others thought of them.

More than a third said they worried regularly about the way they looked or how much they ate.

Overall, 22% of Year 10 and 12 students said they had thoughts of self-harm in the last year, and 14% said they had self-harmed.

Those who had been bullied were twice as likely to self-harm than those who had not.

Self-esteem among young people is also falling.

In 2024, 27% of pupils reported having low or medium-low self-esteem – up from 21% in 2018.

Students who identified outside of the male or female gender binary were more likely to report lower self-esteem.

Among primary school children, the most common sources of worry were school tests, schoolwork, friendships and how others perceived them.

A quarter of primary students said they often worried about school tests.

You can read the full Mental Health Profile online here.