Devastating installation shows crushing pressure for young people

I'm genuinely terrified of getting older. I feel as if everything is against me.

Responding to new data analysis released today (Tuesday 29th October) showing another record-breaking year of referrals to children’s mental health services, youth mental health charity YoungMinds is shining a light on the million pressures young people face with a striking artwork of a young person crushed under the weight of the burdens they face installed in Kings Cross station.

This comes as the charity also releases new data showing that 46% of teachers surveyed believe CAMHS - the mental health services they refer young people to - are not fit for purpose.^[1]

Further analysis shows:

In the last school year, there were nearly 1.3 million referrals (1,296,444) to services compared with 759,772 in 2018/2019, equating to a 71% increase in referrals in the last five years;^[2]
Since the 2020/2021 academic year, new referrals every academic year have been over 1 million;
Teachers surveyed blame family problems (68%), bullying (66%) and social media (63%) as the three top factors that have a significant negative impact on pupils’ mental health.^[3]

Young people worked directly with the charity to share the pressures they are facing and over 1,000 were involved in creating the artwork that will be unveiled today. The artwork will be covered in the items that represent the pressures that are causing the mental health crisis and depicting issues such as the housing crisis, discrimination, poverty, academic pressure and social media. The public will be invited to remove and examine the pressures, as a demonstration that young people should not have to take them on alone. Under the pressures, a statue of a defiant, hopeful young person will stand, representing all the young people at the heart of this crisis.

Alongside the artwork installation, the new analysis further confirms the deepening crisis within NHS mental health services and that the system continues to lack the resources or a workforce to keep up with demand. Beyond this, the charity also warns that we can no longer focus just on services to improve young people’s mental health or drive down prevalence. The crisis is linked to many issues impacting young people’s lives and solutions must be far bolder.

I’ve seen many young people, including myself, struggle to get the help they need due to a shortage of trained professionals and fragmented services. Stigma around mental health also prevents early intervention, and there’s not enough support in schools. The system feels overwhelmed, and urgent cases often don’t get the attention they deserve in time, where often they have already reached crisis point as a result.

Samara, YoungMinds Activist
Young people are concerned about their futures and the pressures of the world. From the climate crisis to the cost-of-living crisis, people are beginning to talk about their mental health and how they feel about these pressures, yet when they do so, they are unable to access the right support at the right time.” YoungMinds have also launched a petition today, addressed to the Prime Minister Keir Starmer, calling on his Government to make the changes that young people need.

Stefano, YoungMinds Activist

Mental health is one of the biggest issues impacting young people’s lives today. Whilst the numbers in need of support have been spiraling, the people in charge of making things better have fallen short. With over a million new referrals each academic year for the past three years, it’s clear tweaks to the system will no longer work.

We cannot look to one thing to blame for this crisis – young people are being crushed by a million pressures. From the cost-of-living to the climate crisis, from global insecurity to social media, from academic pressure to worries about the future, these pressures are taking their toll on the mental health of a whole generation. And right now, it feels like they are facing this alone. We want everyone to care about young people’s mental health and also show that underneath those pressures, there is hope, defiance and power.

We also need clear action from the Government and bold solutions that really impact young people’s lives. The Prime Minister must earn back young people’s trust by fulfilling his promise to roll out open access early support hubs across the country. We also want a commitment to tackle the problems impacting young people before they begin and put their voices at the heart of the policies that affect them. Real change takes bravery but the costs for inaction are too high – these terrifying figures must not be ignored.

Find out more about the campaign and how you can get involved.

Join our movement

For further information and for interview requests please contact press@youngminds.org.uk or call 0203 861 2072. Images of the installation will be available by approximately 10:30am on Tuesday 29th October. Press are invited to attend the installation from 8:30am to interview young people and YoungMinds representatives.

[1] This research was conducted by Censuswide with 1005 UK Primary and Secondary School Teachers between 09/09/24 - 16/09/24. Combines ‘somewhat agree’ and ‘strongly agree’.

[2] NHS Digital Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics, analysis of data based on referrals of under 18s September to August.

[3] This research was conducted by Censuswide with 1005 UK Primary and Secondary School Teachers between 09/09/24 - 16/09/24.

YoundMinds worked with youth specialist consultancy and creative studio, Livity, to create the installation.

Methodology

The research was conducted by Censuswide with 1005 UK Primary and Secondary School Teachers between 09/09/24 - 16/09/24. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles and are members of The British Polling Council.