Over the course of my life, I’ve spent a lot of time out of school, university and work due to poor mental health. And I know I’m not alone. There are now around 1 in 5 people aged 8-25 with a mental health problem – a figure that has risen sharply in recent years, particularly since the pandemic. For decades, resources and funding haven’t kept up, leaving many without support. As a result, more children are missing school, and more young people are out of work and claiming disability benefits, because of mental ill-health.
According to the latest data, there are nearly 1 million young people (aged 16-24) not in employment, education or training (NEET) in the UK. Being identified as ‘NEET’ can be detrimental to a person’s career prospects, with significant knock-on effects on the economy, productivity and public services.
To tackle this problem, the Government recently announced an independent investigation into youth inactivity (the ‘Milburn Review’), alongside a parliamentary inquiry into youth employment, education and training. Centre for Mental Health has submitted evidence to both, highlighting the link between youth inactivity and mental ill health and urging the Government to address the root causes of these problems.
Mental health problems make it harder for children to attend and perform well in school, limiting their options for the future. This makes it more difficult to find and stay in work, particularly if their symptoms are left untreated and persist into adulthood. It also risks young people becoming trapped in a self-reinforcing cycle, where they aren’t well enough to work, and being out of work makes their symptoms even worse. Being out of education and employment at a young age can also cause ‘economic scarring’ where a person gets stuck in insecure, low-paid jobs with limited opportunities for progression. This harms their economic stability and earnings potential, putting even more pressure on public services over the long term.
Youth unemployment has been all over the news recently, with headlines reporting an eleven-year high. Instead of blaming young people for this problem, we must focus on addressing its underlying causes, and on providing young people with the help they need. Because behind every headline is a real person, trying to find their way in life.
I’ve struggled with my mental health ever since I can remember. At thirteen, I was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and admitted into inpatient care. The stress started showing up as pain in my body, and I developed a physical disability. I missed months of school, and those around me were very concerned about the impact this would have on my future.
But I got the care that I needed, and I got better. With ongoing therapeutic support, I got through my GSCEs, and my A Levels, and went onto university.
Uni wasn’t easy. I was far from home, and without the support and routine I was used to, I had a relapse of my symptoms. I dropped out in my first year and moved back home to get well again, before reapplying somewhere else. And even though it was a bit easier the second time around, I still needed more time out at my new university.
But I got the care that I needed, and I got better. Eventually, I graduated.
It took a little while to find my first job after graduating. I wasn’t sure where someone like me would fit into the workforce. I worried a lot about getting sick again. I worried about whether employers would want me, given that I would probably always need extra support. I worried about whether it was reasonable to need that support, as an adult in the working world. Shouldn’t I be able to cope on my own by now? What if I can’t? What if I’ll never be well enough to hold down a job at all?
I sought out career advice, and was reassured. There are workplaces out there that make mental health a priority. There are jobs that would work for me, and I was supported to find them. In the end, I got a job in a charity dedicated to helping children who’d been through what I’d been through. It was here that I found my passion for mental health policy, and I’ve stayed in the sector ever since.
Now, 14 years since my diagnosis, I have a strong support network and a toolkit of coping skills that keep me well. I still need to take time off work sometimes – and perhaps I always will. But most of the time, I am able to work in a job that I love, striving to make things better for other people just like me.
In many ways, I feel like one of the lucky ones. Throughout my recovery, I have had access to support. I have been championed and held by family, friends, teachers, colleagues, and mental health professionals. I have had people who believed in me and saw my potential. People who gave me the space, time and reasonable adjustments I needed to get well, and get back to work.
But I don’t want to feel lucky. I don’t want to feel like the exception, rather than the rule. Like mental health support is a privilege only some of us can access.
Without this support, I would not be well enough to work today. It is as simple as that.
Every baby, child and young person deserves to be supported through life. To be nurtured through infancy, each stage of education, and as they enter the working world. To discover their passions, and to gain the skills and qualifications they need to reach their potential. Young people deserve to find fulfilling work, and to live fulfilling lives. And, for those unable to work, they deserve our support just the same, to live free from financial hardship and social stigma.
Change starts by providing children and young people with the care they need, when they need it. By intervening early, before they reach crisis point. And, crucially, by tackling the things that made them unwell to begin with, like adverse childhood experiences, poverty, social inequality and discrimination.
It requires a joint effort across society, with policymakers, educators, employers and public services all having their own role to play. Ultimately, it requires us to make mental health a priority. Not just for the sake of employment statistics, or productivity, or economic growth (though, of course, they all depend on it). But to protect the health and happiness of every young person, both now and in the future.
Because that is what they deserve.
