Written by: on October 4, 2017
Hi, I’m Amelia!
You probably don’t know much about me so I’ll describe myself in a few words:
morbid (but sweet), ambitious (Slytherin and proud), friendly, creative and a little bit crazy (but it’s okay because as the Mad Hatter and Melanie Martinez said, all the best people are)!
I asked Jo if I could write a blog post and she said yes, so I’ve decided to talk about something important, a little bit scary and quite relevant in a lot of young people’s lives.
Mental Health.
You can’t always see it, you don’t always know about it, and even if you’re really close to a person they probably won’t tell you or let you see how their mental illness affects them.
Why not? You might ask.
Well…….
Some people feel ashamed, embarrassed or at fault for their mental illnesses. Others don’t want to make a big deal of it. Some don’t even know they have a mental illness; it could be you who begins to worry about their health.
It also affects lots of people, more than you’d realise and with so much pressure on young people, teenagers and young adults are often sufferers.
So what are the STATS?
I googled them and was shocked.
50% of mental health problems are established by age 14 and 75% by age 24. 10% of children and young people (aged 5-16 years) have a clinically diagnosable mental problem, yet 70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.
10% might not seem like a lot to you but that’s equivalent to 1 in 10. So 1 out of 10 friends might have a clinically diagnosable mental health problem.
That’s the same as:
10/100 or 100/1000.
And that’s just talking about diagnosed mental health issues.
So, why can’t we just help everybody?
Because there are so many people suffering from mental health issues and not enough mental health workers and there are long waits for people who need help and an over-reliance on tablets and medication.
Which leads onto the next part: what causes mental health illnesses?
A lot of things. For many mental health illnesses, you were likely born with the predisposition for this disorder and certain things can trigger the onset of the illness.
Stress, worrying about things, low self-esteem, bullying, lack of help at home – all sorts of different things.
Which is why it’s important to talk to people and to take a break every once in a while.
If you’re worried about a friend or family member, tell somebody you trust.
If you’re concerned about your own mental health talk to your parents or carers, your teachers or someone else who can help you.
Experiences with Mental Health
I don’t suffer from any mental health issues however, I have friends who do.
One of them suffers from anxiety and has panic attacks and so when school started back up again this year she was really nervous and had a few moments where she got quite upset and distressed. I helped her by telling our teacher she needed to leave the classroom for some air and made sure she sat down with some water until she calmed down.
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Spread the word about mental health and make people aware that they are not alone.
Thank you for reading!
~ Amelia
Useful Links:
Young Person’s Advisory Service
Works with young people ages 10 to 25. Services include counselling for difficulties affecting emotional, physical and mental well-being. There are also group sessions offered around issues such as self-harm and anger awareness.
Aims to make the treatment of mild depression and anxiety accessible and approachable to young people. Based in Wallasey, the service is free of charge and includes a drop-in centre, meditation, exercise programmes and counselling. For more information go to –
Is a charity for young people, It is the UK’s leading charity championing the wellbeing and mental health of young people and has a parent’s helpline as well as a long list of charities and helplines children and young people can call when they need to talk to somebody.
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