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(source: womensaid.org.uk)

• At least 750,000 children a year witness some form of domestic abuse
• Domestic abuse is the single most quoted reason for homelessness
• Children who see this may: become depressed; have difficulty sleeping; have nightmares/flashbacks; be easily startled; have issues at school; develop an eating disorder; self-harm
• It can cause feelings of anger, guilt, insecurity, loneliness, fright, powerlessness and confusion.

(source: endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk)

• Domestic abuse counts for 16% of all violence crimes
• It will affect 1 in 4 women in their lifetime
• It has more repeat victims than any other crime
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Drug

(source: national drug prevention)

• 25% of secondary school children in the UK have tried drugs
• 25,000 young people (under 18) receive treatment for drug abuse
• 12% of 16-19 year olds are regular users

(source: talktofrank.com)

COCAINE

• Is a powerful stimulant, but has short-lived effects.
• When smoked, it reaches the brain quicker than if snorted
• All types are addictive, freebase and crack (smoked) are more so
• Effects: Makes you feel on top of the world; very confident; makes you feel alert and awake; similar effects to Speed, but when snorted the effects last for about 20-30 minutes
• Risks: Can make you over-confident/aggressive; end up taking careless risks; raises heart rate & body temperature; reduces appetite; comedown period is long- causes depression; during comedown, there is a strong temptation to take more; damages cartilage in the nose; leads to anxiety/paranoia
• Further risks:frequent users crave more (expensive habit); breathing problems and chest-pains if substance is smoked; heroin sometimes taken to dull cravings- new addiction; powerful psychological dependance

HEROIN

• If taken in small amounts creates a feeling of warmth and well-being
• If larger doses are taken, the user feels sleepy and extremely relaxed
• First dose can cause dizziness and vomiting
• Effects: Feeling of happiness; slows down the way that the body works (like a strong pain-killer); effects can last for a number of hours and it is dangerous to use any other drug or alcohol during this time
• Risks: Overdoses can cause comas and sometimes death; respiratory failure; If you have been taking heroin regularly you may have built some tolerance, but if you then stop heroin, your tolerance will rapidly drop – and you risk an overdose if you simply take the high dose used to; if mixed with alcohol or other drugs, can be very dangerous; it sedates you and stops you coughing properly,which creates the risk of choking on vomit; sharing needles puts you at risk of getting infections such as Hepatitis B and C/ HIV AIDS
• It is highly addictive and the brain will develop strong cravings of it. If used on a regular basis, you need to keep increasing the dosage to get high, and eventually it needs increasing just to prevent nasty withdrawal symptoms.

Lust

(source: rapecrisis.org.uk)

• 1 in 5 women (aged 16-59) have experienced some form of sexual abuse
• 85% of survivors/ victims of sexual abuse have known their attacker prior to the incident
• There are many reasons why some women stay in intimate relationships that are violent or abusive. These include: societal pressures; to prevent disruption to her children;a lack of alternatives e.g. financial constraints; fear that leaving might lead to further violence; shame about speaking out about what has happened; difficulty recognising or accepting what is happening; blaming themselves for what is happening; hope that their partner's behaviour will change.
• it is possible that you will be feeling recurrent depression or anxiety; you may suffer panic attacks, phobias and/or flashbacks. Maybe you are filled with anger and shame and/or feel worthless.
• It is estimated that 85,000 women are raped on average in England and Wales every year
• Over 400,000 women are sexually assaulted annually
• 28% of women victims, do not tell anyone about their assault
• 15% of victims report it to the police

(source: Endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk)

• A third of people believe women who flirt are partially responsible for being raped

Mind

(source: interview with a teenage sufferer of clinical depression.)

• Feel a sense of emptiness
• Find it hard to communicate with people, and prefer to spend time alone
• No longer feel joy in activities they use to love
• Didn't feel like there was a reason to be depressed
• Counselling: At the time, felt it was stupid and a waste of time; in hindsight, realised that it was helpful for finding the root for their problems.
• Turned to things such as drink and self harm to feel something
• Rooted back to a collection of problems, rather than a particular trigger
• Went back to childhood
• Wasn't visibly depressed, hid all problems away from others

(source: mind.org.uk)

Depression

• feel helpless; easily tearful; cut self off from others; restless/agitated; isolated/unable to relate to people; unusually irritable or impatient; low spirited
• low self confidence; can't sleep; blame self a lot; find it difficult to speak; no energy; change eating habits
• Others around them should encourage them; listen and not blame them

Bipolar

• Severe mood swings
• When Manic: feeling euphoric; restlessness; talking very fast; racing thoughts; lack of concentration; lack of sleep; a sense of own importance; poor judgement; aggressive and risky behaviour; increased sexual drive
• When Depressive: sense of hopelessness; emotionally empty; feeling guilty; feeling worthless; chronic fatigue; changes in appetite; forgetfulness
• Mania usually starts suddenly and lasts between two weeks and four to five months. Depression often lasts longer, on average around six months. It can last longer, but usually less than a year.
• A stressful environment, social factors or physical illness may trigger the condition. Sleep disturbance can also be an important contributor.

(source: youngminds.org.uk)

INDY'S STORY

• always angry and trying to make sense of life
• felt like it was all too much to carry
• left exhausted at the simplest of things
• getting up in the morning seemed like a pointless and painful hassle

(source:the telegraph.co.uk- article from 25/08/2011- interview with a 16 year old who had depression)

AMY FELTHAM'S STORY

• started feeling depressed at the age of 13, went to GP about it
• was told she'd have to wait to see a specialist
• her parents had to pay for a private clinic, where she was immediately put on Prozac (made things worse)
• a few months after she was put on medication, she tried to take her own life. Then she was referred as an emergency case to the NHS
• unsure about where the roots of her illness came from
• bullying at school, she didn't think it affected her, but self-esteem started to ebb
• started to self ham. The pain helped to feel something other than the depression for a while
• "I was so low I didn't want to go on."
• didn't want to do anything

Exam

(source: mind.org.uk)

• Stress= inability to cope, mental weakness. Can be due to hormonal changes.
• Pressure from society to do well
• Can be caused by: faulty education system; pushy and unaware parents; more expectations

(source: childline.org.uk)

• Can develop anxiety in the lead up to exam results
• Stress can be caused by pressure from adults (either parents or teachers)
• Anxiety can make you feel sick and feel as if you are going crazy
• you may become tired, upset, shaky, light-headed, dizzy or frustrated

(youngminds.org.uk)

• Can cause cause issues with eating, sleeping, anger and anxiety levels
• On top of emotional instability or mental health problems, it can be the last straw

(source: bbcnews.co.uk- article from 16/08/2006)

• If grades do not meet expectations, they can become a source of depression and humiliation
• Those at risk tend to have a sensitive nature, find it hard to cope with criticism and disappointment, or find it difficult to find solutions to everyday problems
• Tend to be perfectionists and set themselves unrealistic targets
• There is a fine line between parental encouragement, and them exerting too much pressure
• Teachers often say that students can do better, but this isn't always the case

(source: bbcnews.co.uk- article from 11/06/2004)

• From 31 Mar 2003- 1 April 2004, childline received over 900 phone calls asking for advice about exam stress
• These children can feel very desperate and alone
• Some children feel as if they'll only be accepted/valued if they get high exam results
• Some children feel that it'll add to their parent's problems if they fail their exams
• They don't want to let their teachers and parents down

(source: the guardian.com- article dated 18/03/2008)

• around 73% teachers (Association of Teachers and Lecturers) believed that children were under more pressure than ten years ago
• 46% of these teachers reported that they has students who self-harmed
• manifestations of stress include: crying; withdrawal; verbal abuse; aggression against other pupils and fighting

"We believe that young people face intolerable strain from an education system which cannot stand failure. From an early age, children face the pressure to perform in tests to boost their schools' league tables"Then they take on parental demands to get into their choice of secondary school and later university. They are anxious to fit in with their peers, and then when they don't fit in, are bullied via text, email and social networking sites."

(source: thetelegraph.co.uk- article dated 25/08/2011)

• Record numbers of 16-18 year old have sought mental health advice ahead of exams.
• In 2010/2011 the charity YoungMinds received 6332 calls to their helpline; 884 of those were about 16-17 year olds; 39% of these were about exam stress

(source: www.kidshelp.com.au)

REASONS FOR EXAM STRESS

• Inability to accept failure or uncertainty
• Pessimism or negative self- talk
• Unrealistic expectations (from themselves or parents)
• Unpreparedness
• Life transitions
• Family/ Relationship difficulties
• Financial problems

(source: www.st-andrews.ac.uk)

What is Exam Anxiety?

• excessive worry about upcoming exams
• fear of being evaluated
• apprehension about the consequences
• experienced by many normal students
• not mysterious or difficult to understand
• manageable by following a plan of helpful suggestions

Psychological factors include:

• feeling little or no control over the exam situation (rather than knowing and applying exam strategies)
• negative thinking and self-criticism (rather than being one's own best friend)
• irrational thinking about exams and outcomes:

• irrational beliefs "If I don't pass, my (family/partner/boss) will lose respect for me/I’ll lose my job!"
• irrational demands "I have to get at least a Merit or I am worthless."
• catastrophic predictions "I'll fail no matter what I do—there’s no point."

PEER

(source:www.nspcc.org.uk)

• 38% of young people have been affected by cyber bullying
• 31, 599 children called childline in 2011/12 about bullying. This was 10% of their calls
• Bullying can leave you feeling anxious, depressed and lonely
• 46% of young people say that they have been bullied at some point in their school life
• 38% of disabled children worry about being bullied
• 18% of children who said they were worried about bullying, said that they wouldn't tell their parents
• In the 2011/2012 year, bullying was the main reason that boys phoned childline
• 55% of LGBT youth have experienced homophobic bullying at school
• 38% of children have been cyberbullied, and 28% of this did not tell anyone.

(ditchthelabel.org)

• up to 69% of British youth will have experienced bullying before their 18th birthday
• 23.5% of victims consider self-harm
• 17.3% will truant to avoid bullies
• Over 2.5 million youths are bullied each year
• 550,547 are bullied every single day
• 7 of 10 teens are bullied
• 25.1% of bullied young people consider suicide
• 20.2% claim it has a negative effect on their studies
• 34.2% says it negatively affects their social lives
• 42% said bullying had a detrimental effect on their self esteem and personal welfare
• 2, 457, 800 british teens will be bullied this year
• 589, 872 will self harm
• 618, 950 will want to die
• 417, 826 will play truant