Our Impact

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Mental well-being is described as a positive state of being in which xxx. It includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being and affects how we think, feel, and act (1).

59% of young people say the unpredictable political climate makes them anxious about the future and consequently, the number of young people who do not feel in control of their lives has increased by more than one-third.

We can see how the impact of the current political and economic climate on young people’s mental health is potentially decreasing their sense of self-regulation, and increasing feelings of anxiety, which is heightened by the fact that moving into the world of work is a critical point of transition in young people’s lives.

At Outward Bound, we focus on developing individuals’ social and emotional skills which can act as protective factors in times of difficulty or change.

The stories included below are from participants for whom their Outward Bound experience has been instrumental in changing their approach to life and their mental health and well-being.

Please note the names and images of individuals here have been changed to protect the privacy of the individual.

Meet Alex - his biggest challenge communicating with others

Meet Jessica

Meet Kristen

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Meet Yuki

Before Yuki came to Outward Bound in Year 9, her goals and aspirations for the future changed regularly and she would drift from one idea to the next.

Spending a week away, doing activities that were new to her and having to push herself emotionally and physically to achieve small goals, made her re-focus on which direction she wants to go in and made her realise the hard work that is required to get there.

"Now, I have my mind set on a certain job, it’s put into perspective that in order to accomplish that dream, I have to put in the effort. If I hadn’t have gone on the Outward Bound trip, I wouldn’t have realised what it means to put effort into something and to really want to achieve that goal. On the trip we set ourselves goals, by doing that it’s like having these little bursts of joy and self-pride in knowing what you can accomplish on your own and it’s those feelings that I want to remember, achieve my dream and just persevere and try my best."

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Meet Emma

Before Outward Bound, Emma had few aspirations and goals. She doubted herself, had very little confidence, didn’t consider herself suitable for university and had resigned herself to the fact that she’d probably just never end up leaving her small home town.

“Having been on the Skills for Life Award, it has made me realise that I can do more than I thought I could. I can move away to university and I am able to do that and I’ll be fine doing it and I can have whatever job I want, I’m just as good as anyone else.

If I hadn’t have gone on the Award, I don’t think I’d be leaving my home town, I think I’d be stuck here for quite a while doing a job that I probably wouldn’t like that much. Before I kind of thought I wasn’t very academic and that would mean that I was going to work in a dead-end job for the rest of my life and not be happy with it, now I’m like ‘I can have any job I want so long as I put the effort in and I try’. It’s definitely impacted my view on life in general.”

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