YoungMinds

These record-breaking stats should be a major cause for concern for our Government. More than 500 young people a day referred to NHS services for anxiety. We need big changes to make this better and we need them now. Let’s start with early mental health support. The Government need to keep their promise to put early support hubs in every community, so young people can get support as soon as they need it. Beyond that, we need our leaders to take an urgent look at the things that are shaping young people's experiences – discrimination, the education system, the cost of living. Change is possible, and we know that things can get better - for every young person across the country. Source 📰: NHS data via The Guardian

A beautiful reminder from poet Pádraig Ó Tuama 📷 Option B

Sharing this diagram from Dr Juliet Young for anyone by work or life events. The stress bucket can be a brilliant way to help identify and manage stress.

Something every young person should know this #GCSEresults day

Fewer high-pressure exams. More focus on preparing you for life beyond school. Less anxiety, fear, burnout and overwhelm. More space for joy. More freedom to explore and make mistakes. More room for mental health and wellbeing. These are urgent changes that we are asking the Government to make.

If you work with a young person who is feeling overwhelmed about getting their GCSE results this week, show them this grounding technique. It’s called the alphabet game – and it was a game changer for 16 year old Kerry.

Show this to a young person you know who is getting their exam results today.

If you work with young people, supporting them with social media and mental health can be challenging and confusing. We asked our youth advisors to share some advice they’d want you to know. This is what they told us.

If you work with a young person who struggles with school, show them these affirmations from Impact.

Every young person who has experienced trauma should see this message from Katie. After being diagnosed with PTSD, Katie had a hard time accepting that her anxiety was rooted in trauma from her early teenage years. She wants you to remember that nobody’s trauma is more or less valid than anyone else’s. This is her story. “I might have a diagnosis of PTSD, but I wasn’t the victim of a violent crime. I never went to war. I haven’t been involved in a traumatic accident. Instead, I simply went to school. For years I invalidated my own pain, convinced that what I had been subjected to wasn’t “bad enough” to warrant this response and that my illness was somehow less real or valid because other people had what I deemed to be more “significant” trauma. I felt almost ashamed of my diagnosis at first, but over time I came to realise that my trauma and experiences are valid.”