Children's Mental Health Week: Northampton campaigner offers advice to help young people struggling with mental health

Joe Plumb, 24, faced ruthless bullying and complex mental health problems growing up and now he's a prominent face in the media, working on a national campaign with ITV, rubbing shoulders with celebrities and having his campaigns recognised on a global scale
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A Northampton mental health charity founder, ambassador and campaigner has shared his story and important advice for Children's Mental Health Week (February 7 -13)

Joe Plumb, 24, has autism, diabetes and mixed personality disorder. He grew up in care and was ruthlessly bullied - verbally and physically - in and out of school. His complex medical needs made this all the more harder to cope with and this led to his first suicide attempt, aged just 11.

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The deterioration of Joe's mental health saw him admitted into a psychiatric unit repeatedly over the course of three years.

Mental health ambassador and campaigner, Joe Plumb.Mental health ambassador and campaigner, Joe Plumb.
Mental health ambassador and campaigner, Joe Plumb.

Joe said: "In primary school, I was always different. I had no friends - it was me, myself and I. I was beaten up and verbally abused. That kept going throughout secondary school. I could not even go to the toilet because I was being threatened.

"School should be a safe place but, for me, it was like being in a dark corridor and just everyone surrounding me because of my autism and people don't understand that. With my mixed personality disorder, I did not have the help or support I needed because teachers were not trained to support me."

Joe established the 'Speak Up, Speak Out' campaign at the age of 13, which was recognised on a global scale with the endorsement of singers James Arther and Sinitta Malone.

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He was part of ITV's 'Britain Get Talking' mental health campaign, he became a charity ambassador for anti-bullying charities, Kidscape and Ditch The Label and he co-founded the Northamptonshire based charity 'Stand Out Northants', which supports children in care and care leavers.

Joe Plumb grew up dealing with complex mental health issues and bullying and now campaigns to improve mental health support for young people.Joe Plumb grew up dealing with complex mental health issues and bullying and now campaigns to improve mental health support for young people.
Joe Plumb grew up dealing with complex mental health issues and bullying and now campaigns to improve mental health support for young people.

For his work, Joe has been the recipient of the Princess Diana Award, The Youth Voice Award, Most Inspiring Young Person of the Year and he was a finalist for The Sun newspaper's 'Caroline Flack' Mental Health Hero Award.

He has additionally worked with the home office to develop a toolkit to help those with autism and other learning needs, better communicate if they were experiencing bullying.

Joe continues to campaign to reform mental health services so they can better support children and young people across the UK.

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Joe said: "I have battled throughout my life with mental health and mental illness and the battle continues although it has got much better than it was.

"I endeavour to make more support widely available to all children and young people, provide more training and support for staff and spread constant awareness and keep the conversations around mental health going and normalise being open when we struggle."

In 2021, 17.4 percent of children aged six to 16 years and 16.9 percent of young people aged 17 to 23 years were identified with a probable mental health disorder, according to statistics from gov.uk. This equates to about one in six children and young people.

This research takes into account a number of factors that cause deterioration in children and young people's mental health. These include social media, family functioning, a reduction in SEND support due to the pandemic, school absenses and household circumstances such as falling behind with the mortgage or bills.

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Around a quarter (26.2 percent) of six to 16 year olds with a probable mental disorder, whose parents were concerned about their child’s mental health, the parent had not sought help or advice between summer 2020 and spring 2021.

For 17 to 23 year olds with a probable mental disorder, two-fifths (41.5 percent) of young people with mental health concerns had not sought help during this time.

Joe said: "These statistics are staggering and, I must add, these do not represent the full scale emergency surrounding children and young people’s mental health due to some of the barriers in reporting due to the pandemic. These numbers are likely to rise significantly.

"The emotional wellbeing of children is just as important as their physical health. Good mental health allows children and young people to develop the resilience to cope with whatever life throws at them and grow into well-rounded, healthy adults."

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Joe has provided the following advice to help children and young people struggling with their mental health:

Things that can help keep children and young people mentally well include:

* being in good physical health, eating a balanced diet and getting regular exercise

* having time and the freedom to play, indoors and outdoors

* being part of a family that gets along well most of the time

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* going to a school that looks after the wellbeing of all its pupils

* taking part in local activities for young people.

* feeling loved, trusted, understood, valued and safe

* being interested in life and having opportunities to enjoy themselves

* being hopeful and optimistic

* being able to learn and having opportunities to succeed

* accepting who they are and recognising what they are good at

* having a sense of belonging in their family, school and community

* feeling they have some control over their own life

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* having the strength to cope when something is wrong (resilience) and the ability to solve problems.

How you can help to support a child's mental health at home:

* find time to talk, just the two of you – ‘Check in’ with them while you’re doing things together, so they get used to talking about their feelings.

* play together – Play helps them to be curious, learn new things, solve problems and express feelings without words.

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* be a role-model – Show how you cope with difficult feelings and look after yourself.

* don't be forceful - As a parent, it worries us when we can see our child is struggling. We want to help and support them but getting them to talk can be tough. Be gentle in your approach and don't be forceful to get them to talk.

* use a 'Mindfulness Journal' - Sometimes verbalising feelings can be extremely challenging for Children. Writing down feelings and keeping a journal is often less stressful and helps to understand thoughts and feelings. It also helps the parent see how their child is feeling.

Support for under 18s

If you’re worried about something, talk to an adult that you trust as soon as possible.

This could be:

* someone in your family, like your mum, dad or carer

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* someone at school, like a teacher or Place2Be (if you have it in your school)

* your doctor

If you are not sure who to talk to:

* Call Childline on 0800 1111 or Text CONNECT to 85258 to contact Shout (in partnership with Place2Be). Talk or text for free any time, wherever you are in the UK.

If you're worried about a child or young person

* if their life is in immediate danger, call 999.

* the Young Minds Parents Helpline, which you can call for free on 0808 802 5544 (9.30am-4pm, Monday-Friday, UK).

* Kidscape Parent Support Line: Call: 020 7823 5430 - WhatsApp: 07496 682785

For further information or, to reach out to Joe Plumb for advice, visit www.joeplumb.org

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