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Our By Your Side Christmas campaign aims to raise a significant sum so Britain’s leading mental health charity can continue to provide a network of life-saving support.

Over the coming weeks, it will tell inspirational stories of courage and strength, reveal some of the extraordinary work being undertaken in schools and communities and shine a light on the unimaginable suffering of those at the mercy of an overstretched system.

But it will also try to explain that no matter how low or desperate someone is feeling, they are not alone and help is available.

Paul Farmer, Mind Chief Executive, said: “We’re facing a national mental health emergency. The pandemic has taken its toll on our mental health, but some of us have been more affected than others.

“Although the Government committed to some additional funding for mental health services, this falls far short of what is needed. Even before the pandemic, too many people were left without support, facing long waits or being turned away. Now that the scale and severity of mental health problems have increased any additional funding needs to reflect this. It’s not too late to make this right by taking urgent action.”

What was a mounting crisis has now become a national emergency after successive lockdowns plunged millions into the depths of despair.

Last year 20 million people – roughly one-third of the UK population – approached Mind for support, the highest level since it was founded in 1946.

This year its services have been stretched to the limit as the fallout continues.

Each month its Infoline receives 8,000 calls, equal to 258 each day or 11 every hour.

The charity acknowledges the “brutal toll” the pandemic has had on our mental well-being.

And the inescapable reality is mental ill-health is indiscriminate and impacts every generation.

Covid has seen many people experience mental health problems for the first time, while those with existing mental health problems have seen them get worse.

According to Mind research during the first wave of the pandemic three in five (60 percent) people said their mental health had worsened during lockdown, but around one third (31 percent) did not seek help as they thought their problem wasn’t serious enough.

Analysis concludes 23 percent of adults – around 11 million – and 18 percent of those people aged 11-16 – roughly 722,000 – have experienced mental health problems in the past year.

Almost two years since the global pandemic erupted many of us are still grieving.

Others, like frontline workers, have lived through the nightmare but suffer alone.

Covid has left millions with trauma.

And although many appear to be surviving Mind says millions are “living on borrowed time”.

No one is immune from the devastating impact of mental ill-health with lives routinely destroyed by a catalogue of conditions many choose to hide from the world.

Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, abuse, dependency, bereavement, trauma, loneliness, self-harm, obsessive compulsive disorder, anorexia and bulimia barely begin to scratch the surface of life-changing traumas that can touch anyone at any time, regardless of status or standing.

That is why we are encouraging those in peril to speak out and seek help.

But amid the darkness there is hope.

Across Britain fantastic work is being carried out every day to help future generations deal with the ferocious pace of the modern world.

Our campaign will highlight what is being done to help those most in need.

At Tiger Primary School in Maidstone, Kent, mental health and well-being is prioritised above all else. Its pioneering approach has taught 435 pupils nothing is off-limits, however raw the subject.

Each day children are allocated time to talk to each other or a teacher about how they are feeling or what is on their mind.

The objective is to encourage them to open up and share their joys and worries.

Children also have 15-minutes each day for feeling good time to support and manage their mental health and well-being.

During the sessions, they learn about the importance of breathing and how to use this for calm. They use visualisation techniques to support them during stressful or unhappy times and they use reflection to help them identify good things in their lives.

Every six weeks pupils have an online mental health check where they use emojis to express how they are feeling.

They then write a sentence under the heading “Something I would like my teacher to know about me”.

It could be a boast or achievement or refer to something more personal. Comments are monitored by teachers and the school’s well-being officer.

Children are then given time to talk with an adult and find ways to support them.

One of the most important members of staff is Nelly the well-being dog who supports and calms children when they are anxious or upset.

Headmistress Hayley King said: “Lockdown led the children forgetting how to communicate and becoming shy among their peers. This method has not only developed well-being and mental health, but it has improved the spoken language and social skills as well as preventing children from being at risk of isolation.

“We see language as a vital means of communication and we don’t turn anything into a big deal. There is no taboo subject and nothing is off-limits.

“Sometimes children express things in a way that shows us how deep and dark their thoughts are and how vulnerable that leaves them. It is absolutely up to us to help because this is the start of a journey towards adulthood and we want to build resilience and help them develop the tools that will aid them if they suffer mental health issues in the future.”

The school also has close links in the community, especially care homes, and children regularly visit to make cards or draw pictures for residents.

This relationship was developed further last year when every resident from three homes were brought gifts to open on Christmas Day.

The project will be repeated this year.

The school also works with the Salvation Army and local food banks to make sure the most disadvantaged receive presents at Christmas.

Former London cabbie John Batt, 65, and wife Katie, 63, grandparents to pupil Jake, seven, said that the way mental health is being prioritised is like “day and night” compared to when they were at school.

John said: “We simply weren’t encouraged to share our emotions, or talk about anything. If you did it was seen as a sign of weakness. We are so pleased Jake is encouraged to be open – it is clearly the right thing to do.”

Katie added: “It’s fantastic Jake can be honest and open, whatever the circumstances. There is nothing wrong in showing emotion, whether that is happiness, sadness or something in-between. We never had anything like this and would have been too embarrassed to say anything. What is happening is a sign of the times and I am fully supportive.”

Jake’s other grandparent, Kathy Smith, 70, said: “The approach of the school will go a long way to helping children become more resilient and better prepared to deal with what life throws at them. Whatever way you look at it, it’s got to be good to speak up. It’s something we never did.”

Covid has exacerbated what was already a huge problem and exposed the fragile framework in place to help those left in turmoil through no fault of their own.

Millions were fighting depression, anxiety and other psychological traumas before the virus struck, but the lockdown has magnified the problem.

Pre-pandemic patients talked of excruciatingly long waits to access treatments like cognitive behavioural therapy.

But with GP surgeries shut for face-to-face visits for most of last year, millions have been forced to suffer alone.

Experts warn a perfect storm of ill health, isolation and redundancies will have a serious impact on mental health in the months and years to come.

Pre-Covid around 10 percent of adults said they experienced some form of depression. After the first peak, 19 percent said they had feelings of depression but the latest data suggests, even more, have been affected with the figure now at almost one quarter.

Telltale symptoms include lethargy, poor appetite, disrupted sleep and low mood.

There are now 1.6m people on waiting lists for mental health treatment. Around 800,000 adults and 450,000 children and young people are waiting for secondary mental health services while 380,000 people are waiting for NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT). The number of eating disorder referrals and emergency and urgent referrals to crisis care teams for under 18s is skyrocketing.

IAPT was launched in 2008 to treat adult anxiety disorders and depression.

The NHS says more than one million people a year access services to help better manage their mental health.

But they want the number of people who can access talking therapies to increase by an extra 380,000 a year to reach 1.9 million by 2023-2024.

Yet this will barely scratch the surface.

In March last year when Covid struck 108,330 referrals were made to talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Latest figures from July show 92.3 percent of people received a first treatment appointment within six weeks of referral, against a target of 75 percent.

The number receiving their first treatment appointment within 18-weeks of referral was 98.8 percent.

This Christmas we all have a duty to act to ensure next year proper mental health support is available for everyone who needs it.

Mr Farmer said: “We’re pleased to be partnering with the Daily Express as part of the By Your Side mental health campaign, raising awareness and money to help us make sure we can be there for everyone who needs mental health support.”

* Mind Infoline: 0300 123 3393 is open 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday or you can email [email protected]

Ex-England star backs our campaign

Former England footballer Chris Kirkland has given his wholehearted support to our By Your Side campaign.

After years of being dogged with anxiety, depression and self-doubt the goalkeeper knows only too well what rock bottom feels like.

It was pre-season in 2016 and he was away in Portugal with Bury, the last club of his 18-year professional career. He was determined to end his life so made his way out on a hotel roof to jump off.

He said: “Every minute of every day was painful. It got to the point that I stood on a hotel rooftop and I was going to jump. I’d had enough. It was a seesaw moment. I either jumped or I stepped back and started to fight. I didn’t want my daughter to grow up without a father or my wife to be widowed. That’s when I phoned her and told her everything. She flew me straight home and that’s when I asked for help. I made the right decision.”

Chris, 40, added: “Campaigns like By Your Side are incredibly important to bring mental health to the forefront of people’s minds and to encourage those who are struggling to seek out help.

“The statistics speak for themselves. Mental health doesn’t discriminate, it can affect anyone at any time, and it can take many forms. Some of my greatest struggles with my own mental health during a time that seems, to the rest of the world, I should have been living my dream as a professional footballer. Behind the scenes it was a different picture. For years I felt embarrassed to even admit to myself that I was struggling, never mind telling someone else.

“If I hadn’t reached out for help when I did, I don’t know where I would be today. That would be my message to others – be brave and talk to someone.

“The past two years have had a devastating toll on people’s lives and mental health support is needed more than ever before. I’d encourage everyone to get behind this campaign in the run-up to the festive period, your support can make a massive difference to someone’s life.”

The former Liverpool stopper is now using his experience of battling depression to encourage boys and young men to open up about their mental health.

He has teamed up with Edge Hill University and St Bede’s Catholic High School in Ormskirk, Lancashire, to launch Make Talk Your Goal.

Chris said: “I started to struggle with my own mental health back in 2012, not long after I left Wigan Athletic to join Sheffield Wednesday.

“I struggled to adjust to the change in my routine and travelling a lot. Because I didn’t want to stay away from my family for too long, I would be travelling from my home near Liverpool up to Sheffield for training, just so that I didn’t have to stay overnight. But that meant that I was in the car for long periods of time on my own too, which was very isolating at times.

“I missed home a lot, and I hated that I was missing out on really important moments in my family life.

“At first, I didn’t realise that it was my mental health that was suffering because it just wasn’t something that you heard or spoke about much, especially in my world.

“So I kept it to myself and struggled for around five years and that was a really low time for me.

“I decided that enough was enough, and after covering it up for so long and trying to gloss over the issues, it reached a crisis point where there was no other option but to get help. That was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Make Talk Your Goal will see leading speakers from the world of sport and the arts promote conversations around mental health among boys and young men.

The partnership will see a team of researchers from the University undertake a placement at St Bede’s to evaluate the impact of the programme on its students before it is rolled out to schools across the country.

Chris added: “The past two years have been incredibly tough on people’s mental health. The pandemic, lockdowns and restrictions have been particularly challenging for school kids, who have experienced so much disruption to their routines and being away from their friends for long periods of time.

“Make Talk Your Goal wants to reach out to young people, particularly young lads because we know that men often don’t speak out as much as women, and make them feel comfortable to talk about their mental health.

“I want young lads to know they don’t need to feel embarrassed for talking about how they feel and to know that they’re not on their own. Whether you speak to someone you know or not, whether it’s through a helpline or a charity, people are always there and want to listen and help. My message to others is to be brave and talk to someone. I know first-hand how much one conversation can make a difference to someone’s mindset.”

Dr Bridget Mawtus, who is leading the research, said: “Now more than ever, the mental health of our young people is under pressure after the disruption caused by the pandemic and the strain it has placed on their education and socialising. It’s been eye-opening to witness the impact the programme has had on the students at St Bede’s, particularly because we know that young men are significantly more likely to suffer extreme consequences of poor mental health.”

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