Tortured by taunts- the BBC takes a look at why kids can be cruel about mental illness.
Samantha Hilton remembers her friends literally walking away from her. She had started self-harming because of depression from the age of 13.
School was “hell” she says – a catalogue of rejection by teachers, friends and doctors, who put her behaviour down to “teenage angst” or hormonal changes.
Her account does not shock PhD student Emma Lindley, who has devised lessons to help teachers combat the stigma surrounding mental illness in children. Continue reading
Emma herself has bipolar disorder, but manages her condition well and is a PhD student and works as a lecturer at the University of Manchester. The mental health campaign group Time To Change surveyed more than 3,000 adults living with mental health problems – and a majority thought education to prevent negative attitudes should start in school.Â
How would you react if someone you knew had a mental health issue?
Link to Time to Change to find out if you are a mental health helper or hinderance?Â
Source: BBC, Time to Change
