Tragic Daniel, 15, took his own life due to exam stress. Schools must ensure children have someone they can turn to when they feel low
The
sad story of Daniel Long hit the headlines last week. He was just 15 when he took his own life due to the stress of exams.
Isn’t that heartbreaking?
We’re hearing more and more about the mental health of young people and the difficulty some of them have coping with the world.
In one way that’s worrying, but isn’t there a good chance that these issues have always been there? In the past, they just weren’t talked about.
Anything to do with mental health was stigmatised and swept under the carpet because nobody knew how to handle it. So the fact we’re hearing more about it now is a good thing. And there are many more people trained to understand it, raise awareness of it and find solutions.
It has to be a huge help that the young Royals – Princes William and Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge – have championed more openness around mental health.
Even Prince William and Prince Harry talking about the challenges they faced when they lost their mum has been a help. It has got people talking.
Still, there’s more that we could do. That stigma isn’t extinct yet.
There’s so much pressure around our young people. Exam pressure has always been there, but now there’s also the stresses of being judged on social media, the difficulty young people can have finding jobs, leaving university with debt and not being able to get on the housing ladder.
Sometimes it must feel that life is tough and the list of problems is endless. But we must try to prepare our young people to deal with both success and failure.
So I’d love to see every school have a mental health counsellor attached to it.
We don’t always want to speak to friends or family. They’re too close, we don’t want to worry them. Being able to speak to someone who is slightly more removed is an option that should be freely available.
I have a good friend who had depression which was work-related. She was put in a position she wasn’t properly trained for and was in charge of a lot of people. It engulfed her for many years.
Now? You’d never know. She’s come out of the other side. She gets up and speaks in front of big groups of people, leads teams and is like a different person. There is life after depression.
But having access to mental health experts and the support of your friends and family is crucial.
Daniel Long was an A-star student. Perhaps he felt the pressure to hold on to those top grades was immense. Daniel’s mum, Emma, is campaigning for a counsellor in every English school.
Let’s see it in Scotland, too.