Reading Comprehension Mental Health

Read the story and answer the question on page two.
I am an “expert”. At least in the sense that as a specialist medical doctor in mental health I am asked to
give expert advice, included in expert advisory groups, and if I give evidence in court, it’s taken as expert
evidence.
Annie, for instance, came to see me about a distressing situation. She was at school and suddenly felt
really unwell. She said she couldn’t breathe properly and her heart was racing. She told me that she didn’t
want anyone to notice so she went to the bathroom where she increasingly felt like something terrible was
about to happen. Maybe a heart attack – there was pain in her chest. She couldn’t come out of the
bathroom because she was crying. It was getting harder to go to school or even to go out with her friends.
The doctor told her she should avoid going to hospital when this happens because tests are unnecessary,
expensive and unhelpful for anxiety. She was given a prescription for medication. When she googled the
tablets she was given, the search results showed they were antidepressant medications.
She felt even more anxious and low about herself. When I saw Annie, she had lots of questions about why
this was happening. She felt as if she wasn’t the person she was being treated as and she didn’t know
where to get help.
At the moment, The number of teenagers in mental health crisis has reached record levels in England,
analysis of NHS data by the mental health charity YoungMinds shows.
Laura Bunt, the chief executive of YoungMinds, said the figures tell us that the “system is broken and the
government has refused to listen to young people demanding change”. “We are now in a mental health
emergency and the government must act soon. Many young people are having to wait months and years to
access help, while many others are told they can’t access mental health services. No young person should
be left waiting for help while their mental health worsens.”
Dr Elaine Lockhart, a specialist in mental health problems in teenagers, says that “services are doing their
best to meet this rise in demand for treatment but a lack of staff and resources is making it difficult for
them to see patients quickly”.
As a result of this, if we, people, politicians and the society in general, don’t take the situation seriously
and provide our Health System with the resources to cope with it, teenagers will continue to suffer the
consequences of our indifference. Mental health should be one of our immediate priorities.
Name: Eva Raldúa Montesinos Date:
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
Read the text on page one and answer the questions below using your own words.
What were the symptoms that Annie experienced and what were the
consequences?
The symptoms that Annie has experienced were that she couldn’t breath properly and her heart
was racing. As a result, the consequences of the symptoms recently answered were that she
didn’t feel quite good and she was worried because she thought something bad could happen,
like a heart attack. For this reason, she found it harder going to the school or hang out with her
friends and she became a anxious .
How did she deal with the issue?

When Annie visited the doctor and she recived the medication, she decided to look up what was
the medication for, when she discovered that were antidepressant medications she was
confused and became more anxious.
What is the current situation in the UK?

The current situation in the UK is that many teenagers are supporting with mental health
problems and there aren’t many sources to hep all of tem, soy the will have to wait for having
some help
What has the government’s response been so far?

People like Laura Bunt and Dr. Elaine Lockhart say is the government fault. They believe the
government hasn’t provided enough resources or listened to teenagers, leading to a mental
health crisis where many teenagers shouldn’t had have.
According to people involved in the matter, is the government guilty of the situation?
Yes, people like Laura Bunt believe that the government is part of the responsables for
the problem. She says the government isn’t listening to teenagers that are asking for
help, and they haven't given enough resources to fix the mental health crisis.
What do you think should be done to improve the mental health of teenagers, considering the
information in the text? Give reasons.
To improve young people with their mental health, we need quicker access to services, better education in
schools, and clearer communication about treatments. We also need more money and resources for
mental health services to keep up with the growing need.

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Read the story and answer the question on page two.

How did she deal with the issue?

What is the current situation in the UK?

What has the government’s response been so far?

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