Mental health is at crisis point in the UK, particularly for young people. During lockdown, 46% of people experienced anxiety, 44% experienced stress, 34% experienced sleep issues and 46% experienced low mood. (PHE January 2021)

But the situation for youngsters is far worse. According to the Prince's Trust Youth Index 2021, 26 percent of young people feel unable to cope with life since the start of the pandemic, 21 percent have experienced suicidal thoughts and 45% have experienced feelings of self-loathing.

So, coming towards the end of lockdown, the next six months represent a crossroads in how we approach mental health: we have to fundamentally change the conversation. More of the same is not an option: our position on mental health is completely unacceptable for the fifth wealthiest country in the world.  

It is essential that we start approaching mental health from a proactive point of view and move away from the total reliance on reactive strategies: talking therapies, medication, stress management techniques. We should be empowering people upfront to maintain their own mental wellness before things fall apart. We know how to look after our physical health but have no idea how to look after our mental health. But we can all be taught how, and this would finally rid our lives from stress, anxiety or depression.    

Mental Wellness Education empowers people to:

• Deal with the stresses of daily life, including work-related stress

• Understand and deal with anxiety and low mood

• Adapt and manage in times of change and uncertainty

• Understand who they are and feeling good about themselves

• Finding their passion and what they want out of life

• Becoming more focussed and thinking more clearly

• Becoming empowered to live a good, fulfilling life

At Headucate.me we feel so strongly about the dreadful state of young people’s mental health that we will be launching a petition to introduce a compulsory GCSE syllabus in Mental Wellness and Emotional Intelligence. The old haphazard PSHE or even the revised RSE syllabus is not enough. A lesson once a month, only a part of which is devoted to mental health, is completely inadequate in creating mental wellness.

We believe we could totally transform mental health in a single generation of school children through Mental Wellness Education. Imagine children leaving school with a deep understanding of how their mind works, who they are and feeling good about themselves, knowing what they want out of life and being self-empowered. Not only would they enjoy and get more out of their education and get better grades, but they'd be properly equipped for life...which is actually your duty as a government and the very definition of education.

To discover more, or to try a free mental wellness lesson, visit www.headucate.me