FROM exams to relationships to media pressures, it’s hard to be a young person in Britain today.

This week marks Mental Health Awareness Week and it’s an ideal time to reflect upon the prevalence of mental health issues among Britain’s young people.

A study in 2005 found that one in 10 young people between the ages of five and 16 suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder. That equates to three students in the average school class of 30.

The same study revealed that more than 80,000 children and young people suffer from severe depression, including 8,000 people under the age of 10.

One young woman from Dorset shared her experiences of mental health problems with the Echo, but wished to remain anonymous.

She was diagnosed with depression whilst studying in Year 8, after numerous incidents of self-harming. She was prescribed antidepressant medication, before being taken off it a year later when she appeared to show signs of recovery.

“I wasn’t eating, I was making myself sick and I wouldn’t leave my room and I hated everyone and everything. But no one knew because I knew how to cover it all up.

“So, one day it all got too much and I decided to take a load of tablets to try and kill myself and I fell asleep, but I woke up in the middle of the night being sick and I was sick for three days after.

“My mum and dad just thought it was a bug and stuff.”

She later opened up about her problems to her father and is now receiving counselling to help with her ongoing mental health problems.

As a result, she has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and has been told that she may suffer from bipolar disorder.

“Having both depression and anxiety, to me, is one of the worst things to have to deal with on a daily basis.

“Mental health is becoming a big part of today’s society and more and more people are learning how to hide it away. More support should be given around schools and we should have people come in and talk to us about it. People may feel as if they are the only ones who are suffering with a mental health illness, but they really aren’t.”

Archie Rowell, Deputy Member of Youth Parliament for Dorset, put the issue of mental health in young people right at the heart of his manifesto when he was elected earlier this year. He is seeking to enhance education surrounding mental health problems and raise awareness of the help that is out there for young people in need of help.

He said: “Everyone has to be educated because they could suffer themselves eventually. It preys on innocent people and it strikes at completely unprovoked times. I see so many people suffering and they are not getting the help that they deserve.”

Among Archie’s campaigns is the idea of establishing workshops across Dorset to further educate young people. The workshops would be lead by ‘youth ambassadors’, many of whom will have experienced issues with mental health themselves.

Archie says that lack of awareness is a problem and is backing teaching focused on some of the less well known mental health issues surrounding young people, such as Trichotillomania - a compulsive disorder that causes people to obsessively pull out their hair.

He is also launching a social media campaign to improve awareness, which he believes will be far more effective than enhanced classroom teaching.

He said: “We are putting into place a social media campaign because young people will pay more attention to their Facebook feeds or Instagram feeds more than a teacher speaking to them.”

There is a long fight to improve awareness of mental health issues among young people and Archie knows that he facing an enormous challenge.

“I have had people say the campaign is fantastic and I have had people say this is stupid and you cannot do anything about it.

“I know it’s not possible to completely eradicate the stigma that surrounds mental health issues, because there always will be one. But I intend to make the difference that I promised when I created my manifesto.”