Depression and Anxiety cost the global economy an estimated $1 trillion per year in lost productivity
Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2025 10:49 am
The World Health Organization reports that over 1 billion people live with mental health conditions, making them a leading cause of disability worldwide.
The economic impact is immense, with depression and anxiety alone costing the global economy an estimated $1 trillion per year in lost productivity.
This has spurred a global call to scale up services, uphold human rights, and expand community-based care.
The global mental health crisis will not improve if we fail to identify and address its root causes, yet we often wait until crises emerge before taking preventive action.
A more effective approach starts with early education, equipping children with emotional skills long before difficulties intensify.
Teaching children how to recognize and manage their emotions from an early age is a powerful, evidence-backed strategy for preventing mental health challenges later in life.
Grounded in psychological science, this approach focuses on building core competencies through supportive environments at school and home.
The Psychological Foundation: Why It Works
Early emotional learning is supported by robust psychological and neuroscientific research on child development:
Brain Architecture is Built Early: The brain’s foundational structure forms through rapid neural organization in the first few years. Positive or negative emotional experiences become physically embedded in this architecture, shaping lifelong health, learning, and behaviour. Supportive interactions strengthen neural connections, while adversity can disrupt the development of emotion-regulating networks.
Emotion Regulation Prevents Problems: A 2025 causal analysis study confirmed that childhood emotion-regulation difficulties directly predict internalizing issues like anxiety and depression in adolescence. Teaching emotional management early is therefore a promising preventive intervention.
Socialization Shapes Beliefs: How parents and teachers respond to a child’s emotions shapes core beliefs about feelings. Supportive responses—such as validation and coaching—help children view emotions as manageable, fostering skills like cognitive reappraisal and reducing the risk of depression in adulthood.
The Framework for Action: Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
Structured SEL frameworks, such as the model from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), provide a roadmap for integrating emotional education into schools.
The five core competencies are:
Competence Area Core Abilities & Skills
Self-Awareness Identifying emotions; linking feelings, values, and thoughts; recognizing strengths.
Self-Management Managing emotions; using stress-management strategies; setting goals; self-discipline.
Social Awareness Taking others’ perspectives; demonstrating empathy; understanding social norms.
Relationship Skills Clear communication; cooperation; conflict resolution; seeking help.
Responsible Decision-Making Making caring choices; evaluating consequences; considering well-being of self/others.
Effective SEL implementation requires systemic support:
Use Explicit, SAFE Instruction: Lessons should be Sequenced, Active, Focused, and Explicit—teaching emotions and strategies directly through structured activities.
Foster a Supportive School Climate: Integrate SEL across all settings—classrooms, hallways, cafeterias—to ensure students feel safe, valued, and connected.
Start Early and Sustain Support: Preschool is a critical window. Longitudinal studies show SEL programs improve social competence and prosocial behavior well into primary school.
Partner with Families: Engage caregivers through two-way communication, helping them extend emotional learning into the home.
An Example in Practice: The "Timmy's Trip" Program
A 2025 study of the manualized “Timmy’s Trip to Planet Earth” program for preschoolers—combining teacher training, classroom lessons, and family activities—showed lasting gains in emotion recognition, mental state understanding, and social competence even 18 months later. This underscores how comprehensive, early intervention creates meaningful, sustained impact.
As conclusion, we must admit that proactively embedding emotional education from early childhood is a feasible, evidence-based public health strategy.
By equipping children with emotional tools before crises develop, we lay the groundwork for lifelong mental wellness.
The economic impact is immense, with depression and anxiety alone costing the global economy an estimated $1 trillion per year in lost productivity.
This has spurred a global call to scale up services, uphold human rights, and expand community-based care.
The global mental health crisis will not improve if we fail to identify and address its root causes, yet we often wait until crises emerge before taking preventive action.
A more effective approach starts with early education, equipping children with emotional skills long before difficulties intensify.
Teaching children how to recognize and manage their emotions from an early age is a powerful, evidence-backed strategy for preventing mental health challenges later in life.
Grounded in psychological science, this approach focuses on building core competencies through supportive environments at school and home.
The Psychological Foundation: Why It WorksEarly emotional learning is supported by robust psychological and neuroscientific research on child development:
Brain Architecture is Built Early: The brain’s foundational structure forms through rapid neural organization in the first few years. Positive or negative emotional experiences become physically embedded in this architecture, shaping lifelong health, learning, and behaviour. Supportive interactions strengthen neural connections, while adversity can disrupt the development of emotion-regulating networks.
Emotion Regulation Prevents Problems: A 2025 causal analysis study confirmed that childhood emotion-regulation difficulties directly predict internalizing issues like anxiety and depression in adolescence. Teaching emotional management early is therefore a promising preventive intervention.
Socialization Shapes Beliefs: How parents and teachers respond to a child’s emotions shapes core beliefs about feelings. Supportive responses—such as validation and coaching—help children view emotions as manageable, fostering skills like cognitive reappraisal and reducing the risk of depression in adulthood.
The Framework for Action: Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)Structured SEL frameworks, such as the model from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), provide a roadmap for integrating emotional education into schools.
The five core competencies are:
Competence Area Core Abilities & Skills
Self-Awareness Identifying emotions; linking feelings, values, and thoughts; recognizing strengths.
Self-Management Managing emotions; using stress-management strategies; setting goals; self-discipline.
Social Awareness Taking others’ perspectives; demonstrating empathy; understanding social norms.
Relationship Skills Clear communication; cooperation; conflict resolution; seeking help.
Responsible Decision-Making Making caring choices; evaluating consequences; considering well-being of self/others.
Effective SEL implementation requires systemic support:Use Explicit, SAFE Instruction: Lessons should be Sequenced, Active, Focused, and Explicit—teaching emotions and strategies directly through structured activities.
Foster a Supportive School Climate: Integrate SEL across all settings—classrooms, hallways, cafeterias—to ensure students feel safe, valued, and connected.
Start Early and Sustain Support: Preschool is a critical window. Longitudinal studies show SEL programs improve social competence and prosocial behavior well into primary school.
Partner with Families: Engage caregivers through two-way communication, helping them extend emotional learning into the home.
An Example in Practice: The "Timmy's Trip" ProgramA 2025 study of the manualized “Timmy’s Trip to Planet Earth” program for preschoolers—combining teacher training, classroom lessons, and family activities—showed lasting gains in emotion recognition, mental state understanding, and social competence even 18 months later. This underscores how comprehensive, early intervention creates meaningful, sustained impact.
As conclusion, we must admit that proactively embedding emotional education from early childhood is a feasible, evidence-based public health strategy.
By equipping children with emotional tools before crises develop, we lay the groundwork for lifelong mental wellness.