Feeling the pressure

Dec 13 2008 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

FIGURES tell us one in every three people will suffer from some sort of mental illness at some point in their lives.

With this in mind, we give a wholehearted welcome to a new service by South West Yorkshire Mental Health Trust offering help and support to young people experiencing mental health problems.

The modern world tends to be a stressful one for many of us and increasing numbers of people are turning to the medical profession for help in coping with strains and anxieties.

But it is a cause for concern when thousands of young people are turning to doctors for help before they reach their 18th birthdays.

We ignore the stresses our children face at our peril. They may not have to worry about paying the bills, but the competitive pressures of performing well in tests and examinations at school should not be underestimated.

That is before you begin to think of the normal anxieties associated with developing into a teenager and then a young adult.