Emotional issues refer to mental health problems that affect an individual’s emotional state, mainly including depression and anxiety disorders. Patients typically exhibit persistent low mood, loss of interest or pleasure, anxiety, fear, and other symptoms, which can lead to a decline in social functioning, work ability, and even suicidal behavior when severe. With the acceleration of the pace of life and the increase in social pressure, the proportion of people with emotional issues globally is significantly rising.
The proportion of people with emotional issues continues to increase, and depression has become a social issue.
1. Emotional issues affect national health
As the world enters the more uncertain BANI era (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensive), individual confusion and anxiety become stronger. According to “The Global Risks Report 2022” released by the World Economic Forum for 2021-2022, the risk of mental health has risen to become one of the top ten global risks. The “2023 National Health Insight Report: Family Health Edition” released by Dingxiang Doctor shows that the top three national health concerns are poor skin conditions, emotional issues, and poor sleep. From 2021 to 2023, emotional issues have consistently ranked first or second among national health concerns.
More and more users are opening up about their emotional distress on social platforms, seeking ways to adjust their emotions. Taking the Xiaohongshu platform as an example, the number of emotional-related notes added monthly has increased from less than 200,000 to 400,000 over the past year, with around 50 million emotional-related discussions per month.
2. Prominence of depression and anxiety emotional issues
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression, making it the fourth largest disease globally and rapidly growing. WHO predicts that by 2030, depression will be the leading disease burden globally. Research data published in “The Lancet” in 2021 by researchers from the University of Washington in the United States and the University of Queensland in Australia mentioned that in 2020, there were 2.46 billion severe cases of depression globally (3153 cases per 100,000 people), with 3.74 billion cases of anxiety (4802 cases per 100,000 people), and the likelihood of severe depression in women is higher than in men.
The public has started to pay attention to emotional issues, but effective solutions have not yet been found.
In the past year, there has been a rapid growth in content related to “healing,” with the number of related notes on Xiaohongshu reaching 133,000 in April 2024, approximately 3.3 times the amount in May 2023. Across multiple categories such as fashion, exercise, skincare, and more, consumers are paying more attention to the emotional value products bring and their performance based on this value.
In skincare, discussions about “tired and ugly” indicate that consumers are increasingly aware of the impact of emotions on skin condition. In the hair care and fragrances category, consumers mainly seek to soothe emotions, relieve stress, and alleviate anxiety through scents. In the makeup category, especially vibrant lipsticks, eyeshadows, and blushes, consumers feel more positive and energetic. In conclusion, although an increasing number of people are paying attention to emotional issues and actively seeking solutions from the cosmetics industry for emotional problems, most focus on emotional healing, without finding effective solutions that fundamentally address emotional issues and the physical problems they bring.
Source: Green Eye Intelligence
