Healthwatch published new report about young people's mental health
Our My Own Mind report looks at Ely College students' attitudes to stress and anxiety.
We designed a survey with the students who helped promote it to the rest of the school.
They also helped organise two focus group sessions. 107 young people shared their experiences and opinions.
We know that keeping emotionally well and getting help early on, can stop people’s mental health getting worse.
This report tells many stories about young people’s experiences and the sorts of things that can help them stay healthy and well.
In the questionnaire we asked young people:
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If they ever felt stressed or anxious
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What sort of things made them feel stressed or anxious
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What they did to cope and feel better
This is what the majority of young people said:
- The majority of them had felt stressed and anxious at least once, at some point in their lives.
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They felt most stressed by exams and things that occurred at school or outside the home.
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Almost half of young people told us they keep stressful and anxious feelings to themselves.
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Lots of young people do talk to friends and or family members about their feelings.
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Most students said they have enough help to cope with stress and anxiety.
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Most girls said that talking to someone would help them cope. Boys were more likely to prefer doing some kind of activity, like running or going to the gym.
As a result of these findings we put together a list of what young people would like to see change.
We will be using this report to raise the issues with schools, the County Council, the Clinical Commissioning Group and other organisations that have a role to play.
Downloads
Read a copy of the report here
