We need to take the mental health of our youth more seriously ( 21st May 2020 )

Why are we more open to the idea of someone breaking an arm than to someone struggling with their mental health? As we reach nearer and nearer to the end of this year’s mental health awareness month, it is important to acknowledge that everybody has mental health, however, some people will have good mental health whilst others will suffer from one or even more mental health issues and therefore they have poorer mental health. Sadly, there are many different incorrect stigmas around things relating to mental health such as around young people’s mental health. And as a young person myself, I believe that more attention should be brought to this issue. Unfortunately, the reality of it is that depression is a leading cause of illness in young people, and suicide is the third largest killer for people aged 15 – 19 alone; there must be a change as soon as possible.

The media is in fact, a silent killer and a place where stereotypes take over. I can causally be scrolling on a social media app and then see a young person who is in some way struggling with their mental health and this in itself is okay but the comments are surprisingly not. As I open the comments to see support, I am met not only with that but also with a surprising amount of criticism, and stereotypes, such as people this age are too young to have mental health issues and that they do not know what they are talking about. How would you feel if your feelings were made invalid due to a factor that you cannot control, like your age? This stereotype is not only toxic but very false as 50% of mental health issues are established by the age of 14 and 75% by the age of 24. The issue is that these health issues can spend years being untreated and that 70% of young people who have had mental health problems do not get the help they need at the right early age. Stereotypes create toxic environments in which younger people end up feeling neither safe or comfortable with the idea of talking about their mental health. Another stereotype is that these people who want help or talk about their issues are attention – seekers. This is a dangerous idea and could cost a life if not taken seriously as giving someone that attention could save their life. What we do not want is for these issues to continue into a young person’s adulthood and continue to be an overwhelming factor in their life.

For example, social media is a way we can communicate with friends, keep updated on news, keep entertained, learn new things and so much more so what’s not to like? Well the thing about social media is that young people find themselves regularly viewing heavily curated content that doesn’t reflect reality. Social media has been linked to mental illnesses like anxiety, depression, insomnia and even eating disorders. As more young people sign up to social media platforms, we have seen rates of these mental illnesses going up by 70% in the last 25 years alone and although social media may not be the direct cause, there is certainly a correlation there. There are certainly many positives to social media but unrealistic expectations also come to place meaning more and more young people believe that they’re in the wrong or they need to do something they see someone doing on their screen. However, recent studies show that social media may be even more addictive than cigarettes, is this really the way we want to be living? Spending multiple hours on social media a day even when it is bad for our mental health. There is surely a way around this.

1 in 5 young people suffer from a mental illness and 1 in 10 school children suffer from diagnosable mental health conditions. This means that in the average secondary school of roughly 950 pupils, 95 students would be diagnosed with a mental health condition and that a whole 190 students would be suffering from a mental illness ( diagnosed or undiagnosed). Arguably, there is more awareness on this issue and we are fortunate to have charities like ‘Young Minds’ and apps like ‘meetwo’. There are also more online forums and accounts made for just supporting young people. These provide access for young people struggling to reach out however these options aren’t always accessible to everyone and not enough people know about them.

Ultimately, it is clear that if we want to see a change in these statistics and how young people are addressed when it comes to their mental health, something needs to be done. The education that is open to the general public is clearly quite limited and as mentioned before, if we were able to educate more people and spread even more awareness, then the stereotypes and stigma around mental health and the mental health of younger people could become less and less of a problem meaning that young people are able to talk more about what bothers them. As time changes we must adapt to the changing times in order to support everyone in our communities. And so using old fashioned views to back up points now is insufficient and causing even more damage as they are continued to be passed down and wrongly feeding into our everyday lives. Break the stigma and take the mental health of our youth more seriously.

- Princess