Family breakdown adding to anxiety

The breakdown of traditional family units, with fewer grandparents, aunts and uncles around for children to talk to about their problems, is behind a surge in mental health issues among young people, Dame Esther Rantzen said.

The founder and president of Childline said the fall in extended family units was a key contributing factor to the unhappiness of young people. Childline said counselling sessions mentioning anxiety in 2017-18 had more than doubled in two years.