Struggling with a mental health disorder is an obstacle too many people are facing today, and there is no better time to improve our understanding of the crisis than mental health awareness week. 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 have a probable mental disorder[1] and CSJ analysis of the Understanding Society Survey found that 20 per cent of adults report having at least one diagnosed mental health condition.[2]
At the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), we have recently embarked on a project delving into exactly what the data is telling us, what is driving the crisis and what we can do about it. In doing so, we aim to connect the experiences of people on the frontlines across the country with policy makers.
What causes mental ill-health is a topic widely debated and researched, with some arguing we still do not know enough about psychiatry to accurately diagnose and treat mental ill-health.[3] Despite this, both social and hereditary causes of mental ill-health have been documented.[4]
Due to the complexity of social circumstances, determining causation is ambitious, but the correlation between certain risk factors such as age, sex and socioeconomic status and the probability of suffering with mental-ill health is clear. We aim to explore social causes in an effort to find effective and efficient ways to reduce the problem and ultimately prevent it.
Our Alliance charities provide valuable frontline insight and last week, Football Beyond Borders, a leading charity in education and social inclusion, held a focus group with 6 year 9 girls to talk about their understanding of what is driving the rise in mental ill-health, on behalf of the CSJ. They told us how their friends are key to feeling happy and that social media enhances these positive feelings. However, they also told us about the dangers of social media and said that “social media is like the root to like most problems in school”. They also said school and a lack of services were a key driver of mental health issues.
The mental health crisis is not only being seen in children and young people. The rise in the number of adults taking antidepressants has risen 25 per cent from 2015 to 2023,[5] but we have heard how medication may not be right treatment. Zink, a charity in Buxton, works with people to provide a holistic approach to supporting people and hosted a focus group with suffering mental ill-health, on behalf of the CSJ. One service user told us “You can take one sort of tablet, it’s not working, they’ll go ah take another tablet, take another tablet… it’s just hiding the fact that I’ve got issues, like I need serious help, like I need therapy…”.
Better understanding leading to more people seeking support resulting in increased diagnosis, the effects of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis (circumstances and risk factors), social media and the rise in technology and concerns that the discourse around mental health is resulting in a medicalised approach to a social problem, are all said to be influencing the rise in mental ill-health.
We are releasing a call for evidence to appeal to any professional working in and around mental health and wellbeing to inform our research. We want to canvass views across a range of stakeholders, including but not limited to health care professionals, academics, teachers, charity workers, statisticians, mental health advocates and campaigners, and those with lived experience. Please follow this link so we can hear your expertise.
Thank you to everyone who submitted their entries. Submissions are now closed.
- NHS England, One in five children and young people had a probable mental disorder in 2023, November 2023
- Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study
- The British Psychological Society, The Power Threat Meaning Framework, January 2018
- Mind, Mental health problems – an introduction, October 2017
- NHS Business Services Authority, Medicines Used in Mental Health – England – quarterly summary statistics October to December 2023, March 2024