Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 by Dr Helen O'Connor, Clinical Psychologist
Mental Health Awareness Week is an important date in our diary for opening up conversations on how to support people and enable them to function the best they can.
The last 20 years has seen changes in how we talk about mental health and in particular how educational settings have become central to this. The statistics for mental health problems are worrying and have become more severe over the past decade. It has been reported in 2022 (UK) that for children aged 7-16, rates of mental health conditions rose from 1 in 9 (12.1%) in 2017 to 1 in 6 (16.7%) in 2020.
The CDC (in the US) reported 1 in 3 high school girls considered suicide in 2021, a 60% increase since 2011, and more girls felt so sad and hopeless that they couldn’t engage in their normal activities for at least two weeks in the last year. Whilst the data appears more alarming for girls, it is happening to boys as well. Teenagers mental health started to get worse after 2011 with teenage depression doubling between 2011 and 2019, suggesting that the pandemic was not the original cause. In 2011 it would appear that the new technologies including smart phones and social media all had an impact on mental health. This is not just social media in itself but rather the ripple effect of spending less time face to face, and more solitary time scrolling. It would seem that this is a significant factor given the link with depression is higher from social media use than it is for gaming.
At St Swithun's, we believe that the wellbeing and positive mental health of its students is just as important as the academic components. As a school we have been on a journey to help pupils flourish at the same time as mental health challenges in teenagers is increasing. One of the key ways that we manage this is through the fun, creative and celebratory environment which enables girls to experience positive emotions. The experience of positive emotions is a central component to having good mental health. There is lots of evidence of the benefits of positive emotions which affect our brains in ways that increase our awareness, attention, and memory, not least they broaden our awareness and build resilience which increases individuals coping repertoires. Positive emotions also have an impact on our physical health and have been shown to reduce the risk of developing illnesses, particularly those related to our heart. Positive emotions and positive health are part of our Positive Education curriculum, a proactive and early intervention approach responding to mental health difficulties.
Our school model incorporates six components of positive psychology (positive emotions, positive health, positive accomplishment, positive engagement, positive relationships and positive purpose) which are underpinned by character strengths. Positive education has been taught in weekly lessons since September with the ultimate aim being to help the girls understand what makes them feel good and how to do good, and in so doing, show them how to make the most of their lives. As far as we are aware, our programme is not delivered in any other school in the UK. It has been well received and has had a positive impact on the pupils, as they demonstrate improvement on measures of teenage wellbeing.
Whilst our positive education programme is a taught component of our wellbeing programme there are many other aspects of our school environment which improve the mental health of the pupils and informally build on the elements from positive psychology. The welcome that everyone receives when arriving at school, the celebrations in both formal and informal arenas, the quizzes, and outings all serve to enhance our students overall wellbeing and mental health by increasing positive emotions and positive relationships. By participating in these activities, the sense of belonging to a community has the effect of reducing loneliness, a substantial marker for the decline in people’s mental health if not addressed. National campaigns have highlighted the need to ‘talk’, often spearheaded by celebrities. For example, Ant and Dec launched ITV’s Get Britain Talking campaign in 2019 on Britain's Got Talent by pausing the show for 60 seconds, encouraging people to start a conversation with a loved one. St Swithun’s encourages pupils to talk and be open, having a wide range of adults for whom girls can speak with for whatever reason. Whilst we welcome conversations, we also want pupils to flourish and moving from problems to solutions is always important, not least this is a reactive response to what can sometimes feel overwhelming difficult. We pride ourselves in being a school where conversations can happen without judgement, an empathetic stance to ensure that the mental health and wellbeing of girls is addressed in a collaborative way.
The mental health of teenagers will always be important and if we get this right we can help springboard them forward into life with the best possible chances of being happy healthy adults. Mental Health Awareness Week is a good opportunity to be open and talk but just as St Swithun’s shares knowledge of wellbeing and positive mental health and supports pupils in their mental health through everything they do, lets ensure we don’t just talk about it for one week.
