The Mix’s helpline: Key trends and insights 2018-2023
Since 2018, The Mix’s Helpline supported more than 43,000 young people.
Over those six years, it provided essential support as we all navigated a global pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis, and a rapidly changing world.
Now, with the recent closure of the Helpline to make way for a new and improved peer-support service in 2025, The Mix presents the Helpline Report – a detailed analysis featuring key trends and insights from the duration of this vital service.
With data collected between 2018-2023, the report details the essential issues affecting young people over this period of time. It tracks how those issues have changed throughout this period and, consequently, how this has affected their changing support needs.
Key highlights include:
- Depression and anxiety dominated helpline discussions, with conversations peaking during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Although there was a steep drop in 2023, levels remain substantially higher than before the pandemic.
- Loneliness and self-esteem have grown from marginal topics to key concerns, quadrupling over the last few years, with each now being raised in 1 out of 10 conversations.
- There has been a significant uptick in demand for support related to neurodivergence, particularly autism and ADHD, with discussions quadrupling in recent years.
- As young people age, discussions about suicide increase, with more than one in ten young users in the oldest age group expressing suicidal intentions.
To find out more, read our full report here.
(Trigger warning: This report includes references to self-harm, abuse, suicide, substance use and bereavement. If you are looking for support for any of the issues mentioned, you can find information at the end of the report)
The Helpline Report is just a glimpse into the ongoing mental health crisis that The Mix helps fight everyday. To find out more about how you can help, check out our volunteering opportunities here.