Childline sees rise in calls over anxiety

A SHARP rise in the number of children from Wales seeking help for anxiety has been recorded by Childline, with many young people feeling unable to manage the pressures of modern life.

In 2017-18 the UK-wide counselling service, which launched its annual review entitled The Courage to Talk last week, delivered 21,297 sessions to young people trying to deal with feelings of anxiety, which has almost doubled since 2015-16.

Counsellors with the NSPCC-supported service delivered 608 sessions to children and young people contacting them from Wales in 2017-18 – up from 340 in 2015-16, an increase of almost 80%.

And the true figure could be much higher, with 5,654 children and young people contacting Childline not saying where they were calling from.

Meanwhile, Childline staff and volunteers at the helpline’s two Wales centres fielded 2,470 contacts from children and young people from across the UK last year regarding anxiety.

The two Welsh bases, where volunteers take online chat contacts in Cardiff and phone calls and online contacts in Prestatyn, have seen a rise in contacts of more than 104% since 2015-16.

Of the 21,297 sessions delivered across the UK last year, at least 88% of the support provided by Childline for this issue was given to girls.

Children and teenagers cite a range of reasons why they may be feeling anxious, including bullying and cyber-bullying, eating problems, relationship problems and issues at school with homework and exams.

Some also experienced anxiety alongside other mental health issues such as depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, while others reported having suffered abuse, neglect or bereavement.

The Courage to Talk review details how in 2017-18 Childline delivered 106,037 counselling sessions to young people experiencing problems with their mental and emotional health and wellbeing.

This is a 5% increase on the previous year and more than a third of the total number of counselling sessions provided online and over the phone.

In Wales, more than 40% of the counselling sessions delivered in 2017-18 by Childline were on the subject of mental and emotional health and wellbeing.

Esther Rantzen, the founder and president of Childline, said: “I am increasingly concerned at the huge rise in anxiety affecting our young people.

“It seems that the support they desperately need from family, friends, their schools or mental health professionals is either not there when they need it or is failing them.

“Fortunately, Childline is here to comfort and support them. But we must ask why, for some young people, is the world becoming such a difficult place?

“Unless we find effective answers to this question, we know the anxieties they suffer from can get worse, leading to suicidal thoughts or chronic mental health problems as they get older.”

Des Mannion, the head of NSPCC Cymru/Wales, added: “Anxiety can be crippling and it is deeply worrying that the number of counselling sessions we are delivering for this issue is rising so quickly.

“Increasingly, Childline is filling the gap left by our public mental health services, providing young people with a place they can go for round-the-clock help and advice.”

Any young person in need of help or advice can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or at childline.org.uk.

Adults can contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or at nspcc.org.uk.

Both are free, confidential and open 24/7.