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Mental health: Anxiety, stress and low mood top list of Childline calls

Anxiety and stress, low mood and unhappiness, depression, and loneliness – these are among the most common mental health-related reasons why children are contacting Childline.
Image: Adobe Stock

Mental and emotional health and wellbeing is the top reason children contact Childline, with the charity carrying out more than 105,000 counselling sessions where this was the main concern between April 2022 and March 2023.

Of these sessions, more than 31,000 were specifically related to stress and anxiety, while more than 14,000 related to low mood and unhappiness.

A further 6,400 sessions focused on depression, while more than 5,100 were with children suffering with feelings of loneliness.

The figures were published to mark World Mental Health Day on Tuesday (October 10) and have come alongside a call from the NSPCC for the government to step-up its delivery of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs).

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