Top Mental Health Resources For Young People
Here at Tutor House, we don’t tend to advocate the ‘shake it off’ mentality. If you’re struggling with your studies, your relationships at school or anything else that may be troubling you emotionally, we advise you to seek help. No if’s or but’s. A positive, productive approach to mental health is of the utmost importance in developing coping strategies and that approach starts with support, whether professional or peer-based. So, we’ve put together a list of our most rated mental health resources for you to have on hand if things start to feel a little overwhelming.
Mental Health Matters is a mental health charity that helps people of all ages get the support they need, whatever form that may take. They are very detailed in their approach and have an excellent resources page that recommends sites for specific areas you may be struggling with, such as phobias and eating disorders. They know that no two people are the same and offer a range of services from talking therapy to supported housing to make sure the people who come to them receive the right support.
Young Minds is a brilliant resource that offers a wealth of information about young people’s mental health. It has so much to offer from toolkits for schools to detailed breakdowns of individual mental health conditions. But our favourite sections are the page about medications, which lists the various prescribed treatments available for those struggling with their mental health, and the parents page, which gives sensitive and compassionate advice to parents who may be having difficulty. We urge you to check them both out!
Student Minds focuses specifically on issues that young people may face during their studies. As well as providing a wealth of resources and support options, it contains cutting edge research on a variety of student-based issues from male mental health to LGBTQ+ specific areas. It stretches across a range of media, providing videos and audio material as well as written content, so however you’re most comfortable consuming information, Student Minds has got you covered.
As an extension of Student Minds’ site, its blog is a particularly unique and wonderful resource because it prioritises the voices of students themselves. It is written for students by students and covers a range of topics from freshers week stress to self-harm. So, the blog’s focus is as much on personal stories, and their unique power to help people feel less alone, as therapeutic approaches.
Stem4 has it all. As well as helping young people address serious issues they may find themselves up against, such as anxiety and peer pressure, it’s also designed to act as a companion to them within life’s more general day-to-day flow. It delves into the importance of taking care of yourself, maintaining correct sleep hygiene and consuming a balanced diet in the effort to stave off the build-up of unhealthy habits and thought patterns.
As critical as general mental health websites are, sometimes you need a resource that promises to get to the heart of the specific problem you’re facing - and quickly. Beating Disorders does just that. Studies show that young people aged between 14 and 25 are unfortunately the most at risk of developing an eating disorder. Beating Disorders offers a variety of resources from helplines to online forums where those who have experienced or are experiencing disordered eating can share and support each other.
Calm is an app that was developed to counteract the effects of the increasingly stressful lives we all lead. It provides daily exercises to help users reach a place of tranquillity and peace. However close you are to your exams, however behind you may feel in your studies, taking half an hour out of your day to reconnect with your body and ground yourself is guaranteed to leave you feeling calmer and more resilient.
Speak up - you can do it!
If you take away anything from this blog it would have to be ‘don’t suffer in silence’. In the last decade, our understanding of mental health conditions has increased tenfold and there really is so much help available, whatever your struggles may look like. Whether you come away from them with a fully-fleshed out treatment plan or just a cohort of enhanced coping techniques, these resources are sure to be worth your while. Taking the first step isn’t easy but we have a strong suspicion that, once it’s done, you’ll be immensely glad you took it.