Mental health problems are a growing concern. They are prevalent not just in England – where one in four people are thought to experience a mental health problem in any given year - but across the world where they are one of the leading causes of disability, suicide and disease.
Now a new study shows a worrying rise in mental health problems among teenagers in the UK. According to the Department of Education, which spoke to 30,000 pupils aged 14-15, more than one in three teen girls suffer from anxiety or depression. It's a rise of 10 per cent in the past decade, leading experts to call it a "slow-growing epidemic."
Out of the girls surveyed, 37 per cent had three or more symptoms of psychological distress, for example feeling worthless or unable to concentrate, compared to 15 per cent of boys. In fact, depression and anxiety in boys had actually fallen since 2005.
The results are understandably concerning. So what's going on? Why is it that young girls are more susceptible to mental health problems than boys – and what’s causing their issues?
Nick Harrop, campaigns manager of national charity YoungMinds, explains that much of it is to do with the challenges of 21st century life.
“Teenage girls today face a huge range of pressures. Stress at school, body image worries, early sexualisation, bullying on and offline and uncertainty about the future after school are all piling on the stress," he tells me. "Social media also puts pressure on girls to live their lives in the public domain, to present a personal ‘brand’ from a young age, and to seek reassurance in the form of likes and shares.”
The dangers of social media have been well documented. It is known that young girls are struggling with body image more than ever before and are constantly exposed to unattainable figures – be they photoshopped celebrities or their peers posing on Instagram.
Clinic psychologist Dr Rachel Andrew helps a number of young women dealing with anxiety and eating issues, and says: “I think girls have never been more aware of their appearance and standards they want to achieve in how they look. There’s a difference in the way girls and boys use social media. I’m still seeing boys using it for gaming, while girls are more interested in what their peers are doing, and who seem to be leading a more successful life than them.”
She advises that young girls on social media should try and ensure they follow a range of people – “not just beauty ideals but those who relate to your career aspirations and your sense of fun and frivolousness.”
But not everyone thinks social media is the problem.
Former mental health tsar and co-founder of The Self-Esteem Team Natasha Devon says she disagrees with politicians such as Jeremy Hunt blaming social media for young people’s mental health problems.
“That passes the buck back to young people and says it’s their fault. I prefer to see social media as a reflection of what’s going on with young people rather than a cause.” She thinks the problems all come from the type of life young people are exposed to in 2017.
“We have less community because we’re more individualistic. Parents work longer hours. Everything’s about working harder, getting more and fixing the economy. The price we have paid for living and thinking that way is an effect on our mental health.”
One of the biggest issues for her is the education system, particularly following Michael Gove’s reforms which emphasised academic core subjects. “Education policies have squeezed all the things that help mental health like sports, arts, music and dance out of the curriculum in state schools,” she explains. “School has become more stressful.”
This was noted in the study. Many pupils said that pressure to achieve was hitting their self-confidence, with many not feeling in control of their own futures. It was even worse for teenagers from more affluent backgrounds - those with parents educated to degree level were found to be five per cent more likely to experience mental distress than those without.
“If you’re from a fairly affluent family, there’s an expectation you’ll lead the same quality of life but teenagers are aware it will be even harder for them in the current climate,” explains Dr Andrew. “Girls describe feeling under enormous pressure to achieve academically, some of which comes from families of high-achievers and increased awareness through social media about how tough it is out there in the job market, getting on the property ladder and earning a good salary.”
She thinks the gender difference between girls and boys could come down to the idea of ‘Little Miss Perfect’, where girls feel pressured to be the best - rather than 'good enough' - and are praised for their results, rather than skills.
But Devon thinks the only difference between the sexes is how they deal with their mental health problems.
“At an adult level, women are three times more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety and depression, which makes them look like primarily female issues. But men are more likely to seek help for substance abuse and are far more likely to take their own lives. It suggests to me women seek help for anxiety and depression but men self medicate and tend to wait before they reach crisis point.”
She believes this pattern begins during adolescence, with girls more likely to seek help, while boys try to deal with it alone and in ways that can lead them to be labelled with behavioural issues. If anything, this could suggest that boys need more support for mental health issues than girls, if they are unable to speak out and access appropriate services.
The Government has committed an extra £1.4bn towards children and young people’s mental health to help both sexes, but as Harrop says, “it’s crucial that this money is protected and spent where it’s needed most.”
Devon is not optimistic. “The Government know mental health is a winner and will try to generate PR around it - but they won’t change their policies. All they care about is the economy." What she hopes, instead, is that the Department of Education will listen to teachers, pupils and parents.
“A start would be consulting with a real range of teachers and looking at the elements of the education system working against young people having a good level of mental health,” she says. “There’s so, so much more they could be doing to help these young people.”