“Inside every child is a rainbow waiting to shine.”
In the words of the late great slave abolitionist, social reformer, statesmen and writer Frederick Douglass “It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” I tend to change men to adults because EVERYONE, regardless of age, gender, sexuality, race, disability, religion etc matters. Moreover, this quote was written almost 200 years ago. However, the message is still as relevant as ever today.
I appreciate that we can’t always build the future that we would like for our children. However, we can work together to build our children up and prepare them for their future. One in which they KNOW how important they are and how much they matter. One in which they KNOW that their THOUGHTS, FEELINGS, VOICE, STORY and LIFE MATTERS…ALWAYS.
I am not normally one for posting statistics because, imo, one life lost or changed as a result of mental health issues/stigma/discrimination, is too many! Additionally, it can seem that statistics are posted everywhere to continually highlight a problem, and the research being done, but less focus is placed on finding possible solutions. That being said, on this occasion I want to highlight a few important facts in relation to why we need to have better supports in place for our children and young people. To emphasise how we can work better together to help our children and young people:
RECOGNISE their own strengths, abilities and potential and use their skills, knowledge and values to care for themselves and others.
REACH OUT for help and REALISE that they are not alone.
MAKE a connection and have IMMEDIATE access to help.
Have OPTIONS not ADVICE.
Have ACCESS to information and wellness reminders, IF or WHEN they need it.
PROMOTE recovery, SUPPORT wellness, INSTIL hope and INCREASE autonomy.
SAVE lives.
The statistics below are to highlight the potentially devastating impact that the disparity between mental health and physical health is having on our children and young people and their opportunities to reach their full potential in life. I appreciate that the stats and words won’t change the current situation for many of you, decrease your waiting times, increase supports or provide you with the answers that you need. But, I hope they help you to know that there are people out there who know how unjust, unfair and unnecessary this issue is and are striving to make change, reduce disparities, increase awareness and offer possible solutions to consider pursuing.
So, whether you were a child/young person, are one, are raising one, care for one, work with one…the following statistics may be of interest to you?
“75% of mental illnesses start before a child reaches their 18th birthday.”
“50% of mental health problems in adult life (excluding dementia) take root before the age of 15.”
“10% of children aged 5–16 have been diagnosed with a mental health problem.”
“75% of young people with a mental health problem are not receiving treatment.”
“The average wait for effective treatment is 10 YEARS!” “Meaning that opportunities to help are often missed until CRISIS point causing children to self-harm, become suicidal, be aggressive/violent or drop out of school before they get the appropriate help.”
“SUICIDE IS THE BIGGEST KILLER OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE UK!”
“More than half of young people feel embarrassed about mental illness.” ( Which kind of highlights the “attention seeking part” as a load of 💩).
“JUST 6%! of UK health research spending goes on mental health.”
“For every person affected by mental illness £8 is spent on research…22 times less than cancer and 14 times less than dementia.”
- * stats were published in the Guardian (Jan 2017) and funded by MQ Transforming Mental Health**
Chances are we all have/know or love a child who is counted in these horrifying statistics. Knowing what to do/say, or not do/say can be incredibly difficult. Arguably, we automatically kick in to “FIX MODE” and want to make everything better. We can forget that what might be better for us may not be what is best for our child. We can inadvertently take away the power, control and rights that our children have to choose what matters to or can help them when they need it most. As you all know one size NEVER fits all. So, it’s about trying to uncover what approach can help your child. This doesn’t have to be done alone! In the words of Brene Brown “We don’t have to do it alone, we were never meant to.” So, how can we work collaboratively to release that rainbow in our children and young people?
As the old phrase “A problem shared is a problem halved” suggests, speak to someone. Honest communication with your child/young person, professionals, service providers, friends/family members, helplines etc can be a great place to start. In addition, it can really help to know that your feelings are valid, that people are taking you seriously, that people genuinely care about you and what you are feeling, that you are not alone and that their is ALWAYS help out there.
There is not one GIANT step that does it…just lots of LITTLE ones. xxx
