Local Charity Encourages Parents and Carers to talk to Young People About their mental Health

Today is World mental Health Day.  Local mental health charity Hull and East Yorkshire Mind is using World Mental Health Day to encourage parents and carers to talk to children and young people about their mental health.

1 in 10 young people will experience some form of mental health problem. For young people this can be due to many different situations and unfamiliar challenges like school and exams, relationships and the other pressures of growing up.

Talking to young people about how they are feeling is important to help them to cope with any potential problems with their mental health.  To link in with the World Mental Health Day theme, Hull and East Yorkshire Mind has come up with some top tips for parents to think about when starting a conversation with young people about mental health. Their top tips are:

1)Be empathetic to the situation the young person is going through
2) Use open questions to allow the young person to be able to explain in detail
3) Offer advice but don’t tell them what to do
4) Be patient
5) Be non-judgemental
6) Pick the right time and environment to have the discussion
7) Don’t rush! Makes sure you have enough time set aside for the young person.
8) Remain calm and reassure them that it is okay to talk
9) Remind the young person that they are not alone
10) If they don’t like talking verbally, let them write things down on a piece of paper

Sam Bell, Operations Manager at Hull and East Yorkshire Mind, said “Talking about mental health is important for all of us- and that includes children and young people. There are many pressures for young people that can lead to mental health difficulties, and talking about it can really help.  We hope that our top tips will give parents and carers the confidence to talk to young people about their feelings.”

Mind will be out raising awareness at various locations across the local area. To find out where they will be visit www.heymind.org.uk/events