Young people’s mental health is in a state of crisis. Rates of anxiety, depression, and emotional distress are climbing, with one in five now having a probable mental health condition.
These stats are troubling, but what is also worrying is the fact that responses to these issues are often reactive. People focus on treating the problems when they arise, rather than helping young people build psychological immunity.
The dangers of mental health aren’t just personal, but societal. When young people struggle to cope, the impacts ripple outwards, influencing educational outcomes, relationships, productivity, and future economic engagement. We know that poor mental health in adolescence is one of the strongest predictors of poor wellbeing in adulthood. It’s a trajectory we cannot afford to ignore.
In this moment of struggle, Global Future Foundation has provided a necessary intervention, re-purposing their ‘Four Energies Framework’ – a model used to coach successful leaders – to help young people thrive in periods of unsettling transition. In collaboration with Place2Be, a charity supporting children’s mental health, they have developed a practical, psychologically grounded tool to support, empower and embolden young people. Indeed, while in their parallel guide to support young employees they make recommendations for structural changes, in this guide for personal success they invite young people to cultivate foundations of emotional strength, curiosity, purpose, and human connection.
Grounded in expert psychological analysis, and infused with testimonies from young people, this guide provides a practical toolkit to support young people’s long-term wellbeing in uncertain times.
Purpose Energy: Letting Go of the Pressure to Have It All Figured Out
While ‘purpose’ may have become a bit of a buzzword, there’s psychological research to show that having a sense of purpose enhances your life. A strong sense of purpose is linked with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and even reduced morbidity. And yet, as the report notes, the current pressure to discover your purpose is counterintuitively contributing to “purpose anxiety.” The antidote? Exploring interests without fear of failure, building confidence incrementally, and staying open to new directions.
Accordingly, in this guide, the authors challenge the pressures placed on young people to know their life’s mission. Instead, they say it’s important to see purpose as something that is emergent, that is discovered and nurtured over time. By focusing on the things that drive and interest us we can build a much healthier approach to life and work that will help us in the long run.
Intellectual Energy: Curiosity as a Compass
In a world that is dynamic and ever-changing, intellectual energy is also considered essential. To build the vital skills of critical thinking, creativity and curiosity, the guide urges young people to build their confidence and lean into their interests. It urges readers to pursue things that put them in a flow state – where they are so completely immersed in what they’re doing that time just slips away. This isn’t framed as a productivity hack; it’s a psychological reset. By focusing on what we enjoy and what energises us, we can navigate difficult decisions with more clarity and calm.
Further, to navigate complexity, the guide recommends manageable task-setting as a way to reduce overwhelm. Small wins build momentum, and psychological studies have shown that even the simple act of ticking things off a to-do list can provide a meaningful boost to your mood. Here, there are small hacks and tricks than can help us feel build mental strength and confidence.
Emotional Energy: Building Resilience Through Habits
Emotional resilience doesn’t come from avoiding difficulty. It comes from learning how to meet challenges with a sense of inner-calm. From mindfulness practices to positive reframing, the guide shows how developing emotional strength is like training a muscle – it requires consistency and commitment.
Importantly, the report ties emotional resilience to physical health, reinforcing what psychologists and neuroscientists have long known: sleep, exercise, and diet are deeply intertwined with mental clarity. This becomes all the more relevant in a world where many young people experiencing burnout and exhaustion.
People Energy: The Power of Connection
Young people today are facing what researchers have called an epidemic of loneliness. Despite being hyper-connected online, many feel isolated in their real lives. Nearly a third report feeling lonely often or all the time.
With this, the guide’s final energy – people energy – encourages young people to deliberately invest in relationships, both offline and on. That includes cultivating emotional openness, practicing boundaries, and using social media intentionally. The goal is not disconnection, but deeper connection – with oneself and others.
Why Early Intervention Matters
We know that early mental health challenges, left unaddressed, often persist into adulthood. That’s why tools like this guide are so important. They help young people build the foundations for resilience before it’s urgently needed.
People often don’t know where to start when wanting to improve their mental health, and it can be quite daunting. What makes this guide so helpful is the applicability of it. Every point comes with an ‘action point’ which provides practical and achievable changes you can adopt to improve your wellbeing. This encourages you to take the reins of your mental health, one step at a time.
Perhaps most importantly, this approach places young people in the driver’s seat of their own wellbeing. As the research report it is grounded in insists, top-down solutions rarely work unless they involve the voices of those they’re meant to serve.
To tackle the growing mental health crisis, we need to give young people a sense of agency. We need to give them the tools to thrive. Indeed, in a world that feels increasingly uncertain, that sense of ownership over one’s future may be the most powerful form of psychological strength we can offer.
UK Mental Health Support for Young People:
Crisis Support:
- NHS 111 (Option 2) – Free 24/7 mental health crisis support
- Samaritans – 116 123 (free, 24/7, confidential support)
- Crisis Text Line – Text SHOUT to 85258 (24/7 crisis support)
Young People Specific:
- Young Minds – 0808 802 5544 (support for young people)
- The Mix – 0808 808 4994 (support for under 25s)
- Childline – 0800 1111 (support for under 19s)
Additional Support:
- Mind – 0300 123 3393 (information and local services)
- Place2Be – Supporting children’s mental health in schools
