Childline: Stress Awareness Month aims to foster a happier, healthier and more resilient world

A group of friends who have found happiness by being together and sharing their problems. Photo posed by models

With the pressures of school, social media and general worries about the world, anxiety and stress are very common reasons for young people here in the North East and across the UK to contact our Childline service.

Our counsellors delivered over 99,100 counselling sessions in 2023-24 about mental and emotional health, suicide, or self-harm, making up 54% of all counselling sessions.

Whilst it’s normal to be stressed at times, if things become overwhelming, this can have a negative impact on anyone.

April is Stress Awareness Month – an initiative introduced in 1992 to help people across the world recognise and reduce stress. Its aim is to foster a happier, healthier and more resilient world, and it’s important to ensure children know how to manage stress and anxiety.

Exam season is looming, the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact all of us, and we still have to endure other pressures and finds ways of dealing with them on a daily basis.

The first step in helping children deal with stress is to recognise when they are experiencing it. Parents are most likely to spot when a child is acting out of character, and having regular informal check-ins makes it more likely a child will speak up when something’s wrong.

When problems seem too big to deal with, it can help to break big problems down into smaller ones which can make them easier to solve. If they feel there aren’t enough hours in the day, it could help to reorganise their days, ensuring they have time to revise or do chores, but also see their friends and watch their favourite shows for a break.

It’s important to listen to them and explore why they’re feeling the way they are, but also to look at the Childline website with your child. It has lots of tips and advice to help with any worries or concerns they may have, as well as the Calm Zone, which was designed specifically to help children manage their stress.

Our Childline counsellors are here around the clock for children on 0800 1111 or via a one-to-one chat at www.childline.org.uk