London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 21, 2025

‘It took a year to get help’: generation Z on mental health decline

‘It took a year to get help’: generation Z on mental health decline

Technology and Covid lockdowns blamed for rise in eating disorders and insomnia among young
It was while browsing on social media at the age of 13 that Hannah realised she had an eating disorder. Seeing other girls and women talking about their experiences, she thought: “This is me.”

Since that moment, the now 17-year-old has been on a path to recovery, which includes recently relapsing during the Covid-19 pandemic. She said that after initially seeking support via her GP, it took “about a year to get help”, despite “seeing three different doctors”.

The rise of eating disorders among young people has been highlighted in a recent report showing that the number experiencing problems has doubled in recent years.

It comes amid a general decline in mental health among those aged six to 23, with more than half of young people aged 17 to 23 struggling with insomnia.

Hannah puts the rise in eating disorders down to a lack of control among her generation.

“I think that is the main thing and there is also a huge misconception about balance and what is healthy,” she said, adding that during consecutive lockdowns, people were bombarded with messages that they needed to “exercise” and “lose weight”.

She finds social media more helpful than damaging, saying it has allowed her to connect with people who share her experiences. She has also struggled to get help, saying she often felt dismissed by doctors.

When she first approached her family practitioner, they seemed uninterested, despite the fact that her period had stopped.

Eventually, she was referred to children’s mental health services and received outpatient support, which continued until the first coronavirus pandemic lockdown in March 2020. As soon support was withdrawn, she relapsed and is now back in the care system.

Rebecca, a mother of two, agrees that getting support for young people is challenging. She has struggled to get help via the NHS for her 11-year-old son, who has anxiety-induced insomnia that leaves him lying awake in the middle of the night. She eventually paid for a private counsellor.

There is not enough recognition for mental health problems in young children, she said, adding that her son’s problems really “came to a head during lockdown”.

“[He] is an overthinker,” she said. As well as the pandemic, his insomnia has also been affected by starting at a new school and moving house. After trying home remedies, such as spraying lavender on her son’s pillow, she sought professional help.

The boy believes the rise in sleeplessness is due to the pressure his generation is under, all made worse by coronavirus.

“In lockdown, people were stuck inside all the time and could not see friends. That made things worse,” he said. He added that social media does not help, as it magnifies problems for children.

It is for this reason that Rebecca tries to keep her sons away from platforms such as WhatsApp, and she thinks that not being able to sleep is inherently linked to a rise in anxiety and the fact that young people are exposed to much more than previous generations. “They have also endured a lot in the past 18 months,” she said.

Rebecca’s nine-year-old son is exhibiting the same symptoms as his brother, although she has yet to explore whether he too has anxiety.

“I think there should be more recognition of mental health problems in young children. If the pandemic had not happened, I think there would be less awareness,” she said.

Hannah agrees that education is key and said she would love to see schools talk more about eating disorders. “There is so much taught about the obesity crisis, but no one is talking about those dying of eating disorders every year,” she said.

“The intervention also needs to be quicker because the longer an eating disorder is left untreated, the harder it is for someone to get better.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
×