Talented young actor Adam Deacon seemed to have the British Film Industry at this feet. He had spent years building up a formidable reputation through playing a string of trouble hard men in films like Kidulthood, Adulthood, Everywhere+Nowhere, Comedown and Montana. He even directed and wrote a lively comedy spoof called Anuvahood.  Having just wrapped up on Danny Boyle’s TV mini-series Babylon, it seemed to go wrong as he was reported to have engaged in a feud with fellow Brit-star Noel Clarke.  The former friends fell out over Deacon’s film Anuvahood, which Clarke publically criticized as a the former’s attempt to piggy back on his success.  Anuvahood, more like a spoof of Kidulthood and Adulthood, came and went on the cinemas to little fanfare but gained quite a following on D/L and DVD.

Adam Deacon has since gone public and explain what was behind his fall from fame.

Here’s a short clip from BBC 1Xtra where he explains the kind of help and care he received for his bi-polar condition (33 mins from the beginning).

LINK

LYP says: Adam is not alone and LYP are constantly working with young people who are desperate for help but the stigma of mental health is too much for them to admit to, until it’s too late. Not only that we constantly see that the system set up to help them has been fundamentally squeezed of financial resources to the point that there are very long waiting lists. We are really happy that Adam and others are wanting to talk about it and get help for it and we ask that the government takes a responsibility to solve the problem.

We support Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore’s organisation Thorn. Founded in 2008, its purpose is to defeat human trafficers and child pornographers. In the last year it has tracked down 6,000 missing girls and boys.  The actor’s are best known for having winning streaks at the cinema, predominantly in the 80s-00s; films like Dude Where’s My Car, Bobby, St Elmo’s Fire, Ghost, A Few Good Men, We’re No Angels and so many more.

The couple’s initiative is nearly ten years old is gaining traction the bigger the organisation reputation grows. Their cause is admirable and such a crucial one to raise awareness for as such abuse is ever-present and it’s a despicable evil that must be stamped out at all costs.

Here’s a clip of Kutcher talking on the Today Show, an American TV show where important people and celebrities are interviewed.  He speaks about how Thorn has been working on digital tools to fight against websites where children and adolescents are bought and sold. “We’ve built a tool to help law enforcement prioritize their caseload, and recover victims and find traffickers,” he says about his organization’s efforts in 2016. “And we’ve found and identified and recovered over 6,000 trafficking victims this year. And we’ve found, identified and recovered 2,000 traffickers,” said Kutcher, during the interview. To see the whole interview, click here.

Love Young People will continue to raise the public perception about mental health in the UK and our youth as part of our remit in schools. Last week was a very important time for us as it is a period that brings to light a very real issue. It’s also an area of health that needs constant attention and increased resource. NHS cuts are very pressing and dwindling funding to aid those most in need is a very real factor.

2017’s theme for Mental Health Awareness Week  is ‘Surviving or Thriving?’ If you feel like your mental health might be getting you down, here’s two things you can do over the next week…
1) Read their brand new article on the selfharmUK website about how you can help to change how you might be feeling: https://www.selfharm.co.uk/articles/mental-health-awareness-week-2017
2) Check out their social media channels every day this week as we they be posting as many helpful links they can find all about how you can stop just surviving – and start THRIVING!! #MHAW17

A feeling of self-worth can be elusive when you are young.  Sign-posts are hard to find and your friends can’t always be your moral compass. You are standing on shifting sands with your parents. They love and care for you but how much do they really understand. Take a look at this cheat sheet for your parents and guardians. If not to print out, perhaps these can act as primers in conversation. Some points may be of more use than others.

At Love Young People, we elaborate and give you important exercises to work through to understand why it’s sometimes only natural to feel like an outsider, but that there are many of us that are in the same boat, and also come out of the other side.

• Set boundaries and expect your teen to follow rules
• Be generous with praise
• Encourage joint decision-making and invite opinions
• Stay connected through all forms of communication (social media / phone / talk)
• Be supportive during a conflict yet remain objective to rights and wrongs
• Keep criticism constructive
• Encourage and mentor their individual talents, but don’t be a showbiz parent

Recently a YouTube went viral on the World Wide Web claiming that an algorithm for true happiness had been discovered.  Reading between the lines, this was simply a nice counter-balance to all the global anxiety felt at the moment being fed to us through our media channels. Mo Gawdat, the CEO at Google, lost his son and developed a grief coping method. By sharing this algortihm he believes he’s found a way of generating happiness.

The expression, ‘Glass half guy/girl – glass half-empty guy/girl…’ is a well-known tag used to over simplify our outlooks. Do you look on the bright side or is everything always stacked against you. The sad loss of his son gives this story gravitas, yet, it’s not a cure. But at least it’s a positive way through for us all to us and his sharing is the gift not the actual theory.

We wish there was a miracle over night cure for wellness and self-esteem but what Love Young People’s team can offer are lasting solutions that will endure and help you over time. Such click-bait makes for interesting discussions around the water cooler at school or work, yet on the positive side, at least this kind of ‘uplifting’ diversion exists. Does it amount to anything more than other click-bait showing dogs falling down the stairs or cats that look like Adolf Hitler?

We, at LYP, can help with happiness and well-being but we don’t have an algorithm.

Click here to make your own mind up. Is Mr Gawdat onto something?

Popular Grime MC, Stormzy spoke to Channel 4 News about his battle with depression. He implored young people to address the issue head-on and to seek help when they are feeling very lonely and isolated.

Stormzy addresses this depression on his next LP/CD/Download/Mixtape Gang Signs and Prayers, and speaks about the fact that even though he openly promotes positivity and confidence, he still has dark moments in private regardless of his personal successes.

For the full 25 minute interview visit: HERE

LYP says: We are grateful that celebrities like Stormzy are willing to talk about difficult issues like depression. We hope his message can help someone in real need.

Take a look, listen and pass it on.