Mental health is becoming a more and more talked about topic in the news and especially notable is the coverage of mental illnesses in young people.
Well the Department for Education and Department of Health have launched a new scheme to help concerned children and their families seek help.
The interactive resource “MindEd” will direct visitors to sections like ‘risky behaviour’, ‘eating disorders’ and ‘sexual orientation and gender’.
Previous research has proven that 850,000 children between ages five and 16 in the UK are currently suffering with a mental health illness.
Roughly that works out as three children in every standard school class.
And more than half of the adults that suffer began to experience their illness before the age of 14.
Early intervention is the key according to clinicians and making sure these mental health issues don’t shape young people negatively.
Media and campaigns manager at YoungMinds, Nick Harrop told The Independent:
“We know that early intervention is crucial but many local authorities have repeatedly had their budgets slashed on things like social workers, support programmes for parents, educational psychologists and targeted mental health services in schools.
"This has put a huge burden on services further up the chain, which simply can’t cope with the demand. Young people referred to specialised mental health services are now at the mercy of a postcode lottery."
“Family breakdown, stress at school, body image issues, early sexualisation, 24/7 online networking, bullying on and offline and uncertainty about the future after school are all piling on the stress.”
