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Review Rejects 'Snowflake' Label, Finds Real Rise in Youth Distress

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Prof Peter Fonagy's independent review says mental distress among children and young people is genuinely rising, with anxiety, depression and self-harm most common.

Children and young people in Britain are experiencing a genuine increase in mental distress, and dismissing them as a "snowflake generation" is mistaken, according to Prof Peter Fonagy, who leads an independent review into mental health, ADHD and autism.

Fonagy told the BBC that the rise is real, not imagined, with anxiety, depression, self-harm and eating disorders standing out as the most frequent problems affecting young people today.

The review was commissioned nine months ago by Wes Streeting. As health secretary at the time, Streeting had argued in an interview that young people were being over-diagnosed and, in his words, "written off" - a claim that prompted the independent examination now under way.

Fonagy's assessment directly challenges the idea that today's youth are simply less resilient than earlier generations. He rejected the accusation that those growing up now are overly sensitive, pointing instead to a measurable growth in distress.

To test the findings against lived experience, reporter Catherine Burns spoke with several young mental health ambassadors. They agreed with the conclusions of the review and pressed for more mental health support to be made available.

One of the ambassadors captured a generational contrast in a single line, saying that "other generations just buried it" - a reference to the way older people, in their view, kept mental health struggles hidden rather than speaking about them openly.

The young people echoed the report's core message and called for an expansion in the help on offer, reflecting concern that current provision is not keeping pace with the level of need they describe.

The review covers mental health alongside ADHD and autism, three areas at the centre of debate over whether diagnoses have expanded appropriately or gone too far. Fonagy's early comments suggest his work will land on the side of those who see the surge in reported difficulties as reflecting real strain rather than a loosening of standards.

The findings set up a pointed response to the position Streeting took before ordering the work. Where the then-health secretary raised the prospect of over-diagnosis, the review's leader is emphasising that the underlying distress among children and young people is authentic and growing.

youth mental health, Peter Fonagy review, Wes Streeting, anxiety depression young people, self-harm eating disorders, ADHD autism review, mental health support, snowflake generation

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