UD-Podden #1 — Daniel Spiro

We are launching UD-Podden, and kick off with our first guest, Daniel Spiro.

Understanding how depression expresses itself in young people has become ever more urgent. Recent numbers paint a worrying picture: the HUNT study shows a doubling in the prevalence of depression among children and adolescents in just ten years, and the situation worsened further after the covid-19 lockdowns. The socio-economic consequences are substantial, with the annual cost of depression estimated at 70 billion NOK in Norway alone. At the same time, the Norwegian Directorate of Health reports growing waiting times for specialist mental healthcare.

The challenges are compound: many young people never seek help because of stigma, financial barriers or practical obstacles. Meanwhile, capacity limits force first-line mental-health services to turn away large numbers of referrals. The result is a worrying situation where people can be ill, but not “ill enough” to access specialist care — risking a far greater need for treatment later.

These findings form the theme of four podcast episodes about youth depression, released on our channels. Each episode takes on one of the four statements young people identified with most strongly in our survey.

Our first guest, Daniel, is a director and project lead, and an active skater. He has worked for several years as a press photographer — a job he combined with aid work and playing music with people around the world. He also took the win in the “Best Trick” category at the Norwegian skateboarding championship.

In this episode we talk about being the main character of your own story, how to handle adversity, and how confidence is built and works in practice.

Listen on Spotify.