Young people's mental health

Anxiety is a feeling of unease and fear. It's a natural response to uncertainty. Everyone can experience feeling anxious particularly around time of stress like exams, moving school or around times of conflict with friends. It can be helpful in small amounts, for example, to focus, but if it is too much or goes on for too long it can impact you negatively. 

To help you explore what you're feeling, try this stress bucket exercise (PDF, 38KB). When we know what is causing our worries, they can often be easier to manage. 

If you feel you need further support, check out Herts Hub for information and services that can support you.

Low mood is a feeling of sadness which is normal for anyone to experience. It can occur due to life events, hormones and stress. It's common for low mood to be a short-lived feeling, which things like physical activity, spending time with friends or doing your favourite activities can help to shift. But if it lasts for a few weeks or starts to impact your daily activity, it's time to ask for some help to work through it.

Check out the 5 Ways to Wellbeing to find out how you can make small changes to have a big impact on your mood. 

If you feel you need further support, check out the low mood section on Herts Hub.

Sleep can make a huge difference to how we feel and function, but sometimes there are things in our lives that can make it really difficult to get a good night’s sleep.

Trying to identify what could be keeping you up at night, like worries, too much screen time or caffeine, can be a useful start to getting a better night sleep.

Try some of these tips. If sleep is causing more issues, you can get further support from your GP. 

• Try white noise – it can help some people sleep as it reassures your brain everything is safe and secure. This can be as simple as the static noise from a white noise app, music (some people find music with no vocals is best for sleep) or sounds (such as rain or waves).
• Write down your worries – if thoughts or feelings are rushing through your mind, write them down on piece of paper and put them in a box or drawer away from your bed. If any of it continues to stay on your mind the next day, have a look at what you’ve written and talk it through with someone you trust.
• Try this breathing technique – slowly exhale through your mouth. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose to the count of 4. Hold your breath for another count of 4. Exhale again through your mouth for a count of 4. Repeat at least 4 times.

How to sleep well for teenagers (Evelina London)

Let's Just Talk about Sleep campaign (YouTube)

If the thought of revision and sitting exams has you feeling worried or anxious, you aren’t alone. But there are things you can do before, during and after an exam to help manage these anxieties, including a good sleep routine, eating well and staying active. 

•  Stress bucket exercise (PDF, 38KB) – you can do this on your own, with your friends or a teacher.
• Tips For Exam Stress (WithYouth) – including an activity to breakdown what's concerning you the most and how to manage it.
• Preparing for exams (Childline)
• Coping with exam pressure – a guide for students (GOV.UK)
• Thrive and Survive Guide - for young people starting university (PDF, 14MB)

It's very common for young people to worry about their appearance (1 in 2 young people do). Our bodies go through a lot of change though our teenage years, which can be challenging – especially in a time where we're saturated with social media and AI-generated content which can cause  unhelpful comparison and negative thoughts. 

If your wellbeing is impacted by the way you feel about your physical appearance, there is help available to you:

• Support and self care advice (PDF, 856KB)

• Be Body Positive – modules to help with building a positive relationship between food and your body.
• Report Remove (Childline) – support for under 18 year olds in the UK to report sexual images and videos of themselves confidentially, and remove them from the internet.
  

If you need further help, reach out to your GP or head to Herts Hub.

• Writing things down is a great way to monitor your thoughts and feelings. Try the Just Talk Journal (PDF 2.2MB). and the Gratitude Journal (PDF, 120KB).
• What you can do if someone tells you they're not OK (PDF, 139KB)
• Goal setting worksheet (WithYouth) – take control of your wellbeing and future using this worksheet to work out what’s most important to you.