As many as 1 in 6 young people struggle with anxiety and panic attacks, and the numbers are growing. According to Childline, which is supported by the NSPCC children’s charity, there has been a sharp rise in the number of young people seeking help because of anxiety as they struggle to cope with the demands of modern life.

#WhatIf? is a new resource to help young people develop a greater understanding of the inevitable worries they will experience in their own lives. By contextualising anxiety, young people are empowered to find practical coping strategies, leaving them better prepared to take control of their emotions and challenges they face.

Developed with the help of teachers, youth workers and young people, #WhatIf? is a series of four games designed to build young people's understanding about their own anxious thoughts and feelings and create the setting for important discussions. Conversation is facilitated with light-hearted question and answer cards which open up the floor for deeper reflection, and a ‘know’, ‘play’, ‘explore’ game structure allows greater understanding of how we can identify feelings and cope with the physical symptoms and thought processes anxiety brings.

Everybody experiences anxiety in their lives. But some anxiety can be crippling and debilitating. #WhatIf? is a valuable resource for young people to address their own experiences of anxiety early on. It has been designed for use in churches, in schools, with your own children or in any pastoral setting with 11-15 year olds.