Young people and mental health: 'The past few years have felt like a nightmare'

Grace Ball asks what we are doing to support young people.

The 2023 Prince’s Trust Youth Index shows that ‘the happiness and confidence of 16 to 25-year-olds has flatlined at an all-time low’ in its 14-year history of research. A global pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and an incoming recession are all ‘once in a lifetime events’ that have occurred in the space of three years.

I’m 22 years old, living in the UK and, as I read through this report, I realised that much of it resonated with me.

I am one of the ‘56 per cent of young people [who] say they always or often feel anxious’. I am one of the ‘62 per cent of young people [who] say they always or often feel stressed’. I am one of the ‘63 per cent of young people [who] say they are scared for their future’.

The past few years have sometimes felt like a nightmare, and it can be difficult to see a future that looks any better. I completed half of my degree from my bedroom with little face-to-face contact. Even with achieving a first, I have been unable to get any long-term employment despite losing count of applications.

I worry constantly. Social media, which was a form of entertainment and connection, is now an endless stream of terrifying headlines. And, as the planet careers to the point of no return, it often feels like no one with the power to make a difference is taking it seriously.

However, despite this bleak picture, I have found support from some amazing people who have made things more manageable. Being part of two Prince’s Trust programmes, working with a mentor to talk through my aspirations and volunteering with a local youth organisation have all started to build my confidence and help me see a way forward.

Across the territory, corps are working on the ground alongside children and young people in their community. These children and youth workers are making a tangible difference to the young people they support through youth clubs, mentoring, street-based youth work and through being prayer partners.

Adults who genuinely care are needed by young people now more than ever, believe me. In 1 Corinthians 13:13 we are told: ‘And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.’ This love can be shown by offering a listening ear or a word of encouragement, providing safe spaces, being present in conversations, journeying with and bringing the hope and peace of God through simply connecting.

The Children and Youth Department have a wide range of materials to support adults working with young people facing today’s challenges, including Mindset Resilience Training, the Starfish schools mentoring programme, Upbeat, which provides emotional wellbeing support for boys, and the resource Pastorally Supporting LGBTQ+ Young People.

Gen Z (people born between 1997 and 2012) are sometimes described as ‘snowflakes’ – the generation who can’t go five minutes without checking their phone, who spend too much time worrying, who are over-sensitive. But we are also resilient and determined, we are doing our best to smile and laugh, and we are trying our hardest to make the world better.

As I got to the end of the report, there was one more statistic that resonated with me: I am one of the ‘70 per cent of young people [who] feel determined to achieve their goals in life’, even when it feels impossible. So please be there to support us, talk with us and listen to us. Having people who care makes a real difference.

Reflect and respond

• Prayerfully consider 1 Corinthians 13:13.
• Ask a young person how The Salvation Army can better support them.
• Consider becoming a mentor or a prayer partner with a young person in your corps.
• Connect with the Children and Youth Department by emailing childrenyouth@salvationarmy.org.uk or following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.