It’s a really short sentence isn’t it? Probably something that most men have said or thought at some point in their lives, but definitely something that cuts right to the heart of what we were trying to change through our #JustTalk campaign in Hertfordshire.
I won’t talk in detail about the evidence because that’s already out there. But what was important was that research shows young people – boys in particular – struggle to identify coping strategies when things are worrying them, and fear of judgement is a significant barrier to them speaking to someone about their worries. As a result they can become isolated and vulnerable and unchecked, these behaviours can escalate into adulthood, where we know men are significantly more likely to go missing (73% of adults who go missing are men), or take their own lives. We also know that most existing mental health campaigns have failed to successfully reach out to young men.
#JustTalk was our response to this. The premise is simple, we want to challenge stigma and normalise conversations about mental health and make sure that more young men are using healthy coping strategies. We developed the campaign in partnership with agencies from across Hertfordshire and most importantly with young people themselves. We created a range of resources for schools, including lesson plans and assembly outlines, as well as engaging online content, featuring inspirational role models (premiership footballers, comedians, and journalists) modelling everyday discussion around mental health. Our campaign ambassadors included Jack Wilshire, Jonny Benjamin and Neil Laybourn (the Strangers on the Bridge), Iain Lee and Marcus Brigstocke. The impact of our social media push was huge – our twitter posts alone reach 4.4million people and 25,000 local youngsters heard about the campaign in school assemblies.
Alongside this we ran a competition for young people to submit a film storyboard to promote the campaign, in order to encourage other young people to open up and to understand that it’s ok, not to be ok. The entries we received were both creative, impactful and thought provoking. The title above is a part quote from one of the winners, 13 year-old Alex, who goes to school in St Albans. The rest of it is telling ‘But there’s no need for that, if you share your problems then it will help everything.’ The storyboards have been worked up into films, which we are launching to tie in with World Mental Health day on 10 October. The other winner, Louis, who attends a school in Hertford, entered the competition because he ‘thought it was important everyone knew what mental health is and that it’s important to speak to people if you are feeling a little bit down.’
Both films are great and I would thoroughly recommend taking some time out of your day today to watch. While there’s no simple solution to this problem, if we can share Alex and Louis’ messages with all our young people, then that’s a fantastic start.
If you want to find out more about our ongoing campaign, which launched earlier this year, visit https://www.healthyyoungmindsinherts.org.uk/justtalk.
The films are available on YouTube via the following links:
Written by Jim McManus, Director of Public Health, Hertfordshire County Council . You can follow Jim on twitter @jimmcmanusph.
Better Health For All 
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