ITV & Uncommon continue the Britain Get Talking campaign with a powerful series of breakthrough moments

Almost half of young people struggle with anxiety and more than 400,000 children and young people a month are being treated for mental health problems — the highest number on record.

Uncommon has launched a new campaign for ITV’s Britain Get Talking to address the fact that even though young people are carrying a lot on their shoulders, they often struggle to talk about it. Its core message is how important it is for adults to keep trying, because it takes time to break through.

Britain Get Talking is the UK’s most recognised mental health campaign and has relaunched with a powerful new film showing the interaction between a parent and their child after a rough day at school. It used subtitles to reveal how they both really feel as opposed to what they say to one another, reminding the audience of how difficult it can be to open up.

The following day, Laura Woods encourages families to ‘get talking to young people, as millions of fans tuned in to watch the Premier League champions Manchester City face FA cup winners Liverpool. Laura called on football fans to keep talking to the young people around them who may be struggling with their mental health. 

Wood states, “today, millions of fans will be judging every move these players make. It’s a lot of pressure. But whether it’s a million people, or just one, we all feel the weight of expectation from the people around us.”

And to further demonstrate the vital message, a third moment was aired at the end of an episode of Emmerdale. The powerful moment touched on the recent struggles of character Amelia’s storyline (played by actress Daisy Campbell), where audiences have seen Amelia thinking about having an abortion. The difficult subject of abortion was addressed, and Daisy Campbell went on to say, “almost half of all young people in the UK struggle with anxiety. So, whether you’re a teen or an adult, let’s all take a moment to reach out to each others, just to say — we’re here.”