Last month we hosted our first roundtable event, bringing together an esteemed panel of experts including psychologists, teachers, students and counsellors to discuss the importance of young people’s mental health. Given the effects of the pandemic, loneliness is one aspect that has contributed negatively to mental health, particularly for young people, who missed out on crucial social interactions during the lockdowns. For teachers, recognising the signs of loneliness in young people and knowing how to get support is an important step in building awareness and education around mental health support.
There are well established links between loneliness and poor mental health. In a recent review, loneliness was associated with future mental health problems up to 9 years later with the strongest association being depression. There’s no single cause and no one solution, but the longer a person feels lonely, the more at risk they are of having mental health problems.
The issue is particularly acute for young people. In the BBC’s 2018 Loneliness Study, young people were identified as the loneliest demographic, with 40% of 16-24 year olds stating they are lonely. The pandemic has compounded the problem, with two thirds of young people saying that not seeing their friends over the lockdowns has had a negative impact on their mental health.
What is loneliness?
Loneliness is a disconnection from others and refers to a negative perception of one’s relationships regardless of the social networks that surround us. It might seem surprising that young people can feel lonely in a class full of their peers, but struggling to make meaningful connections can be a factor of loneliness.
Social skills, personality traits, attachment style, what’s going on at home, changes like moving school, and medical conditions, can all adversely affect our relationships with others and sense of feeling connected.
What role do schools play in preventing loneliness?
Education has a key role to play in both preventing and responding to loneliness. By bringing together students from different backgrounds, schools enable young people to forge connections across social groups, build friendships, strengthen social skills and provide access to activities that are meaningful over a lifetime.
Education can also build skills needed to prevent or break the negative thought processes associated with chronic loneliness.
Spotting the warning signs
As teachers, noticing a change or withdrawal of a young person might be the first red flag. According to this article, teachers are in a unique position to know a young person’s usual friendship group and demeanour. They may also observe shifts in behaviour, social dynamics, mood, maturity and interests. Playground duty teachers also have a great vantage point to notice students who are isolated.
“If teachers notice a change in a child, they can check in with them to see if they are ok. Thoughtful questions, out of ear shot of others, aimed at opening up a dialogue and gently finding out what might be wrong can be a good place to start. It’s important to remember you don’t have to rush in to fix the situation by organising lots of social situations. While loneliness might be a signal that tells us we need to reach out and connect to others, the person might lack the confidence to make friends. Feeling lonely can make young people more sensitive to the risks of social rejection” (Jeannine Mills, psychologist).
What can teachers do to prevent and reduce loneliness?
Teachers can help reduce loneliness by encouraging young people to build empathy and understanding for one another and themselves. As this article continues:
“Classroom discussions about friendship and social connection can help children to build the skills required to foster healthy relationships (taking turns, sharing, listening etc). These discussions can also give students the opportunity to talk about difficult feelings that arise when those connections don’t feel strong. It’s crucial we normalise these challenges and the difficult emotions that can accompany them. If we give children the space to tell (and hear) each other’s stories in a supportive environment, it can reduce feelings of shame and isolation. Children can also brainstorm ideas about what to do if they, or someone else, is feeling lonely”.
As well as improving social and emotional skills, this report from the OECD suggests another 3 approaches to prevent and reduce loneliness:
- Enhancing social support (such as greater contact and care for children with recently divorced parents, death in the family or other trauma)
- Increasing opportunities for social interaction (design of space, instructional strategies)
- Tailoring psychological therapy (for example, addressing impairments, emotional regulation, biases in attention and cognition).
Getting more support
To find out more about loneliness and how you can help prevent it in yourself and others, this excellent guide for educational staff by the Mental Health Foundation is packed full of practical advice and sources of support. They also have a 24/7 Education Support helpline open to everyone working in education in need of emotional support: 08000 562 561.
mdeducational Foundation places qualified mental health professionals into secondary schools, supporting young people through tailored intervention strategies designed to give them the tools they need to thrive. If you’re interested in working with us to support your young people in their wellbeing, contact us today.
