Mental Health Matters: It’s #TimeToInvest With The Prince’s Trust

Have you ever felt pressured, stressed, lost or hopeless?

Throughout my life, I have struggled with my mental health.  For all I can put a brave face on it in on social media, the reality has, at times, been far from rosy.  I feel like I’ve battled with my emotions for a lot of my life, I’ve felt pressure coming at me from all angles and the stress and worry has been unbearable at times.  Whether its about school or my career, family, friendships, health or relationships, I’ve worried and stressed about it all.

As I’ve grown up, I’ve learnt techniques to help me to cope but its not been easy and it still isn’t now.  I find that its often hard to access adequate support but it is even harder to decipher what support is needed in the first place.

One of the biggest worries in my life that I’m sure many of you can relate to has been my career.  From tests at school to choosing and studying for A Levels and my degree to going for interviews, getting a job and progressing in my career, the whole lot signals pressure, stress, unease and worry for me.  My confidence has often held me back as at times, I’ve known what I was doing and how to do something but I’ve not had the confidence to do it which has held me back from reaching for the next step and going for interviews to progress.

I found it especially hard in my adult life when I had an accident that really affected me physically and mentally which really knocked my confidence in my own ability.  Its taken me a long time to get to where I am today and I haven’t felt adequately supported; at times, I’ve been so lost that I thought I’d never get through things that have happened to me.  Overcoming obstacles has built my self esteem and given me more confidence in my ability and I want to inspire others to feel that way too which is one of the reasons why I’m so passionate about being a Digital Ambassador for The Prince’s Trust.

The Prince’s Trust have launched the second phase of their Youth Index report which explores the views of 16 to 25 year olds in the UK.  It found that the happiness of young people was being affected because they weren’t confident in what the future would hold for them.

The results paint a worrying picture of a pressured generation who feel their ability to shape their future is slipping away from them and I can certainly empathise with how they feel and have experienced many of the findings myself as I have grown up.

Over 2000 young people across the UK were surveyed and the results are worrying but as someone who isn’t too far away from that age bracket, not entirely unpredictable.

WHAT ARE THE KEY FINDINGS?

• 61% of young people regularly feel stressed
• More than 25% of young people say they regularly feel hopeless
• Young people’s happiness and confidence in their emotional health have dropped to the lowest levels ever recorded
• 25% of working young people feel trapped in a cycle of jobs they don’t want
• 59% of working young people feel they need opportunities to develop their skills before they can think about career options
• 54% of all young people believe a lack of self-confidence holds them back

In light of the findings, The Prince’s Trust are going to call on the government and employers to promote positive mental wellbeing and support young people into fulfilling, sustainable careers.

Not only that, but they have so many of their own programmes that support young people with their confidence, wellbeing, life and work skills to help give them a brighter future.

The programmes really are fantastic; I got to sit in on an Enterprise course at the new The Prince’s Trust Cheryl’s Trust Centre in Newcastle and I loved the straightforward, helpful and nurturing environment.  It really is a place where everyone can thrive no matter their ability.  I’m a firm believer that no matter the socio-economic background, everyone should have access to resources and support to help them to achieve their goals and succeed in life and that’s exactly what The Prince’s Trust are providing.

Do you know a young person aged between 11 and 30 years old in the UK who could benefit from one of the Princes Trust programmes?

Perhaps you’re struggling with your own mental health, struggling to get back into work or education following a hard time or just generally in need of some assistance, then The Prince’s Trust FREE programmes can support you.  Theres a range of online and in person courses that can help to build skills, confidence and self esteem so check them out on their website.

You can find out all about how The Prince’s Trust are helping young people everyday on their Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages and if you use and search the hashtag #TimeToInvest you’ll be able to join in the chat!

What do you think about the statistics?