Building resilience? How refreshing.

I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the latest edition of Well?.

This issue focuses on young people's mental health and wellbeing. It is great to see an issue that is not only about young people but also with articles written by young people.

In the media and politics these days, a lot of emphasis is given to parental choice for their children without ever mentioning that young people should also be involved in these choices - it is, after all, their lives.

I am very glad that my parents supported my choices, for example academic courses, rather than making them for me.

There is also an assumption in some quarters that only grown ups can have 'real' mental health problems. This may be for the best intentioned reasons as no-one wants to label a child or a teenager as having a condition before their personalities are fully developed. It can be hard to tell when a teenagers behaviour or moods are indicative of a problem and when it is just 'normal’ teenage behaviour.

Similarly, elderly people with mental health problems are seen as just 'going a bit doolally'. ‘Grown ups’, with the best will in the world, do like to take over other people's decisions for them.

I remember my teenage years as being very difficult and I know that I am not alone in this, lots of my friends also struggled to cope with all the turmoil of both being a teenager and the everyday things that life threw at them.

That is why I found the idea of building resilience, mentioned in Well?, so refreshing. It seems such an obvious thing, when you think about it. You can't stop change. You can't make the difficult things in life, like bereavement or relationship break ups, go away, nor avoid all upheavals, like moving house or leaving home. So what better way to deal with it than by giving people the tools to cope with the changes, tools which they can use throughout the rest of their lives?

It is also very important that teenagers should be aware of mental health issues and that they can affect everyone and anyone. It is also important that they should know when to seek support and where they can go for support.

Of course, it is not only teenagers who suffer as a result of changes and upheaval. Very young children are also aware of what goes on around them, they know when 'something is up' even if they don't always understand what it is.

This months Well? is packed with lots not just for teenagers but also articles about early years and about projects aimed at primary school age children. There are articles about the growing trends for social sites, such as mySpace and youTube on the internet as well as reviews of books and dramas.

I enjoyed this months issue of Well? and found it interesting and informative. However, if like me you are a bit beyond being classed as young anymore and you really want to know whether it is a success, why not find a young person and ask them.

Summary of fortnight commencing 04/06/07

Medication: None
Exercise: 4 hours
Alcohol: 2
Anxiety: Fine
Anxiety Level (0-10): 0
Number of Panic Attacks:1
Severity of Panic Attack (0-5): 1
Depression: None
Depression Level (0-5): 0
Mania: Fine
Mania Level (0-5): 0

I’ve been keeping pretty well lately, although there has been a lot going on in my life (more on this next week!). Often being busy is the best thing, as long as it doesn’t spill over into mania.

I’ve been doing very little drinking, not quite enough exercise but I’m maintaining my calm.

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