World Mental Health Day
The 10th October 2025 marks World Mental Health Day and this year’s theme from the Mental Health Foundation is focused on feelings of overwhelm caused by repeated exposure to negative news and social media.
As a society we are going through incredibly challenging times and whilst social media can be a positive tool and a great way to keep us informed, it can also be divisive and for some feel relentless and overwhelming.
Kelly Higley, our Children and Young People’s Counsellor, reflects on the impact that she has seen on overexposure of social media on children and families and highlights the importance of creativity to help restore connection within relationships.
“Whilst social media is often marketed as creating connection and has many positive benefits, in many of the children and families I have worked with it is causing the exact opposite – feelings of disconnection, exclusion and negative comparisons, all of which can lead to increasing levels of overwhelm and anxiety.
We are increasingly seeing headlines of country’s looking to impose age limits on social media use, such as in Denmark where plans are taking place to ban social media for under 15-year-olds. But is a full ban really the answer, or realistic to impose? Or are there alternative ways we can learn to incorporate social media in our lives in a more balanced way? So often the conversation I find myself having with parents is how they can better navigate social media use within their family. My response to this is often to really focus on how day to day connection is being made within family relationships.
As a counsellor, connection is central to my work. In the therapeutic relationship I look to form a strong connection with those I work with to enable a safe space to explore concerns and issues. I am passionate about the use of creative activities such as art and play to help form these connections and I strongly encourage the families I work with to introduce them to their day-to-day routines.
This doesn’t mean you need to be an artist or put on a full stage show! It can be as simple as dedicating time each day where you put phones aside and truly connect with each other. Play with some modelling clay, take a walk outside to do some bark and leaf rubbings, try new board games or maybe teach each other card tricks. Sometimes the sillier the better, so you could buy some paints and do some funny self-portraits or build spaghetti and marshmallow towers. Whilst these may seem like small actions to tackle a huge problem, these small habits can help support emotional regulation, reduce stress and create space within busy days to allow for deeper conversations.”
If you have concerns about your child or teenagers’ feelings of anxiety or overwhelm you can contact Kelly for a free 30-minute phone consultation to discuss how she may be able to support.