Schools in the UK are "woefully ill-equipped" to deal with mental health issues, according to Bear Grylls. The TV adventurer is releasing a book called Mind Fuel, which provides daily strategies to build emotional health and resilience.
The 48-year-old has previously said we are going through an "anxiety pandemic". And he thinks part of the reason is children are not being prepared for real life by schools.
"I think the UK’s school system is woefully ill-equipped," he told the Mirror. "None of this stuff [mental health] is taught and I certainly wasn’t taught this stuff at school."
Grylls, a former solider in the British Special Forces, described the number of suicides in those in their 40s and 50s as "staggeringly high". And he believes that is in part because people have not been given the tools to manage their mental health from a young age.
"It wasn’t something people spoke about 20 or 30 years ago," he said. "When you lack the tools and the framework to understand the battles you’re going through, people often don’t know which way to turn."
He said the situation is "beginning to get a little better" and that "the stigma is going". And the Scout Association's Chief Scout, who has three teenage sons, said he is thankful that the conversation around mental health has improved.
But he added: "We’ve got to find things in our lives that help us be physically strong, mentally strong and emotionally strong, and learn life skills; all this stuff that schools fail to teach people. In life, we have to be our own doctor."
He went on: "I’ve had many, many moments in my life when it’s felt like a dark battle through the day and you know what, that’s okay, it’s part of life. Share it and equip yourself with things that can help make tomorrow a little better."
He hopes his book will help people build up the tools they need to cope when they have their own dark days. "I want [people] to be equipped and preventative strength is the type of strength to build," he said.
"Preventative health is the type to build. A key thought to have (about the book) - ask yourselves questions and just take the positives from the stuff that will really help you.
"I want it to be simple, easy and daily. I’m proud to have written a book to help get the mental side of things going."
‘Mind Fuel: Simple Ways to Build Mental Resilience Each Day’ by Bear Grylls and Will van der Hart is available now from Bear's official website and Amazon.
