“I don’t reach out when my mental health is bad…I feel really lonely.”

11th March 2020

We have released a report which highlights the links between young people’s mental ill health and loneliness in the City.

No Limits Youth Ambassadors, a group of young people committed to social action and change in Southampton, conducted a two-week survey asking children and young people in the City about youth loneliness. Of the 70 participants, 62% of young people felt that mental health and loneliness were related; 33% of young people felt mental ill health leads to loneliness, with 16% believing they occurred together.

23% of young people also said they felt they had no one to turn to, which is higher than levels seen nationally and in previous research carried out by No Limits in Southampton.

Young people felt the correlation between mental health illnesses and loneliness was due to a lack of support services, youth clubs and long waiting lists for support. Social media was also a reoccurring response, with 60% of young people reporting social media to have an impact on mental health and 57% saying social media impacted on youth loneliness.

Toni-Marie Leaf, Service Manager at No Limits, said “Here at No Limits we want to raise awareness of the signs, impacts and support available for young people who are suffering from mental ill health and loneliness. We’re here to support young people across the City and be as accessible as we can for those who are experiencing loneliness.”

We are holding an event on 26^th March from 5-6.30pm at John Hansard Gallery, SO14 7DU where there will be an opportunity to talk to the young people involved in the research about their work as well as where young people can access advice and support.