Danish teen turns childhood struggles into advocacy after TV debate appearance

A national television debate transformed the life of 19-year-old Mathias Vinsten Munk, who has since become a prominent voice on youth mental health, school absenteeism, and the challenges of growing up with ADHD, autism, and OCD, Danish broadcaster DR reports.

Munk’s childhood was marked by violent outbursts, severe school absenteeism, compulsive behaviors, and self-harm. At 18, he was invited to appear on Debatten, a live political debate program on DR2, to discuss youth distress—a moment he describes as a turning point. “Some days, I just lie dead on the couch,” he admitted in a recent interview on Brinkmanns Briks, a DR radio program hosted by psychologist Sven Brinkmann, who called Munk “worth listening to.”

Since his February 2025 debut, Munk has become a regular commentator, delivering lectures on involuntary school absenteeism, psychiatric care, and stress reactions. He compares his past struggles to “a balloon with too much air”—pressure that eventually caused him to break down despite his efforts to fit in. His school years included psychiatric hospitalization, where he recalls another patient scratching “HELP” into the floor. Specialized schools failed to address his needs, leaving him isolated and suicidal, as revealed in a mobile phone note he wrote at the time: “I hate my life. […] I think only about bad things.”

After transferring to a therapeutic school in 9th grade, Munk progressed from a 2nd-grade level to earning a 7.0 average on his final exams. Yet by the time Debatten contacted him, he had again dropped out—this time from a youth education program—and was spending a year at home, unsure of his future. His TV appearance forced him to confront fears of being reduced to “the kid with diagnoses,” but he now engages in debates on his own terms, critiquing systems that label struggling children as flawed.

“We’ve designed society so narrowly that if a child can’t sit still for five hours of lectures, we say they’re the problem,” Munk argued. He advises adults to “listen to understand, not to fix,” and urges children to articulate their pressures and needs. Though still learning to manage his new role—balancing speaking engagements with his energy levels—he hints at “exciting plans” ahead while practicing restraint: “I’m not great at keeping things in, but I’m working on it.”