Newbury Weekly News - May 11th 2017

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Newbury Weekly News

FOCUSONMENTALHEALTHAWARENESSWEEK

Mental Health Awareness Weekruns fromMay8-14.The theme is ‘surviving tothriving’ andaims tooutline practical steps thatcanbetaken tobuildamentally healthy countr

Don’t run away from mental health issues – just run!

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By JOHN AGUILAR Principal of Padworth College

The counsellor contemplates

MENTAL health-related issues in young people have been an area of concern over the last few years; in fact the issue appears to be escalating at quite an alarming rate. Over the last five years, 90 per cent of headteachers have reported an increase in mental health problems among pupils and, over the same period, hospital admissions for self- harm have doubled for under 18s. Here at Padworth, most of our students are under 18 and in our care for a substantial portion of the week, if not all of it. Therefore, we are very focused on removing the stigma associated with mental health and also putting preventative care in place. I firmly believe that, for those students who require it, we need to be offering a means of assessment, counselling and consultation which co-exists with the promotion of universal well-being. In short, we need to be very un- British – and make sure that we provide plenty of opportunities to ‘talk about it’. Instead of offering discreet, wooden guidance, we need to be open and vocal about the issue. Above all, we need to advocate the message that it is ‘okay not to be okay’ and that we are here to help. As Padworth College is predominantly a boarding school which homes a vast range of nationalities, we understand how initially, it can be a difficult transition for our students. Often, they have travelled from a place very far from the Berkshire countryside, with little access to familiarity and are surrounded by strangers who are not necessarily proficient in their language. So, we put certain measures in place to ensure that the transition is a smooth and not a daunting one, which, instead of fear, cultivates a sense of bonding amongst our students. It is really important that we set up a safe and reassuring environment for everyone who attends Padworth – whether they board or attend during the day. Additionally, we have found common ground for our students through the co-curricular activities that we offer, such as our running club which is led by our deputy principal, Chris Randell. He is an avid runner who uses his sessions to reflect and refocus – it is a routine that gives balance and release to both his and the students’ stresses, and therefore prevents some of those difficult days. To start with, Chris welcomed students to join him on one of his weekly runs, which soon grew and turned into a running club. The weekly run creates team spirit, enjoyment and togetherness, as well as an opportunity to expel stress and boost endorphins. Chris takes the students out in all weather conditions to uphold the principle of finding balance within a busy week and also to teach perseverance, resilience and self-discipline. These attributes are necessary for tackling issues and overcoming them – whether it

Whyareyoung people today feeling soanxious? Anexpert view fromTimetoTalk

JohnAguilar

and ultimately all of it is put on to young people. Many of the anxious young people in the counselling room are high achievers and a few are young people who cannot achieve and are being failed by the current curriculum. Young people frequently tell me that their best is never good enough for the adults – they always want more. They tell me they constantly feel judged, by the adults in their lives and by their peers too – being judged makes you anxious. We live in a culture of perfectionism. Following on from my last paragraph; high achievers are now expected to get all A*s. Instead of being able to celebrate one, two or three A*s, they will bemoan not achieving eight. Perfectionism doesn’t stop at academic achievement. Young people post thousands of pictures of themselves on social media each year and most devices have the facility to ‘edit’ these photos. The result is that most people look pretty fantastic in these photos and yet every young person who looks in the mirror first thing in the morning, with

no make-up and possibly bad skin, feels like they have a secret, which is that, in their reality, they are ‘ugly’. They forget everyone looks like this at times. The media has for many years directly and indirectly put pressure on young people to look a certain way. Images of ‘perfect’ models give us all the impression that we are less attractive. This pressure is 10-fold in today’s world, with the explosion of media sources. Sadly, it also means that the bullying, which has always existed to some degree in all schools, is multiplied because young people cannot get away from it. Social media has another huge impact on young people and anxiety, in that the constant use of it means young people very often are in communication of one sort or another, most of the day. They have no ‘down time’. My own, perhaps idealised, memories of getting home from school and going out on my bike with no real pressure to do anything specific or be anything or communicate with anyone, seems to be a very rare experience today. We all need ‘down time’, time where we are just being rather than doing. After all we are human beings not human doings. Finally, in the age of ‘health and safety’, we have become risk adverse. Back to me on my bike. In years gone by young people took more exercise and more frequent small physical risks, like riding down a steep hill. Small physical risks are good because they help us to see that we can survive things; they build resilience. Nowadays people either take no risks at all or they go for the big adrenalin hits, and too much adrenalin causes more anxiety. Much of what young people are expected to do in a normal day produces some adrenalin and that adrenalin often remains in their body, rather than being dispersed through exercise or expression. A build-up of adrenalin causes anxiety and panic attacks. For brain health we need physical health, things like exercise, the right amount of sleep and relaxation. To build self-esteem young people need seven pieces of praise to every direct criticism – self-acceptance leads to a reduction in anxiety. Sriving to do well is positive, constantly being afraid of failure is not. Change and progress are inevitable and necessary, but let’s try to keep some of the good habits of yesteryear and of ancient culture and let’s resist the urge to try to do more in less time better and better. DAVINA NICHOLSON MBACP Acrred School counsellor

By DAVINANICHOLSON MBACP Acrred School counsellor

be switching off from an approaching exam or dealing with a more personal issue. Being so committed and determined to achieve his personal goals, Chris completed an impressive total of 2,801km in 2016. He said: “Reaching my target at the end of November was an amazing feeling and I hope that this can serve to inspire our students to reach their goals.” At Padworth, we have different approaches to communication, and the way our teachers interact with students makes for a more collaborative and friendly environment. For example, students address staff on a first-name basis and are not required to wear school uniform, in an effort to create a sense of ease in their surroundings. We also encourage language workshops as a way to break the ice between unfamiliar languages, which builds relationships amongst the students. As a boarding school, we organise an interesting range of educational and social pursuits which offer students different outlets and support their personal development. We have a fully-trained therapy dog on campus which visits primary schools and hospitals, helping individuals to benefit from her calming influence and friendly nature. These methods work for us and our students, but I am very aware that the problem is growing and every school should be fine tuning its own environment for its students. Keep it simple – a message that is sometimes forgotten. Often simple offerings like our running club can act as a successful form of alternative therapy, for stresses that do not necessarily need discussing. The physical therapy ensures a healthy level of physical and mental health and it also develops self-awareness in the students, so that they listen to their body and know when they need to slow down in all areas of life. Teenagers in general have fluctuating hormones, which is why they need more support during this phase of their life. Different degrees of support are necessary, depending on the individual and the situation. Efforts need to be made to identify signs of concern early, using the different outlets available to maintain and encourage wellbeing. Collectively, as a profession, we should be at the forefront on this issue as young people spend a great deal of time in our care and rely on us for the right guidance and support. This means thinking outside the box a bit more so that we can help young people to really enjoy their formative years. methods to maintain a beneficial mental health

FOR the past three years, anxiety has been the top presenting issue in the counselling room at Time to Talk West Berkshire, and indeed, if you look at national statistics, this is a common picture. So why are young people today feeling so anxious? I have some thoughts about this to share with you. First of all, we live in an anxious world; the threat of terrorism, the fear of financial insecurity, politics turning on its head, the threat of greenhouse gasses etc etc. Good news doesn’t make the news. We are constantly bombarded with things to worry about and I mean constantly – with new technology we receive news immediately. When the terror attack happened in London on Wednesday, March 22, around 3pm, most of us knew about it before 6pm. Our anxiety can be felt by our children. Secondly, there is huge pressure for young people to achieve at higher and higher levels.

Davina Nicholson

Of course, we want our young people to be successful, but often, rather than this being a positive aspiration, it becomes driven by fear. Schools are fearful of being judged for not ‘making’ it possible for their pupils to achieve the highest grades and sometimes the cost is the emotional health of the young person. The fear that the job market is highly competitive is passed on from adults to children, with the message that if you do not succeed in your exams ‘you will fail in life’. There is a lot of fear passed from Ofsted to schools, from parents to schools, from schools to parents

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