The Girl Guides are launching a new badge to help teenagers understand and talk about mental health problems.

It aims to break down the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and will give young women the chance to learn self-calming techniques. This may even encourage them to understand more about seeking mindfulness training in the UK in the future as a way to deal with issues of anxiety and stress.

Sarah Brennan, chief executive of Young Minds, was reported by The Telegraph as saying: “Children and young people face numerous pressures as they grow up, including family breakdown, stress at school, 24/7 online culture, body image issues, early sexualisation, bullying on and offline and uncertain futures when leaving school.”

Therefore, she added, it is “vital” to help show them ways to deal with difficult, challenging times.

Research led by Girlguiding showed 46 per cent of 17 to 21-year-old women said they needed help with mental health issues last year, while 60 per cent of girls between 11 and 21 knew someone with a mental health problem.

Despite this, 66 per cent said it was awkward to talk about it, and four-fifths felt adults were unable to recognise the pressures they had to deal with as young women.

As well as Girl Guides, Brownies will receive mental health education as a result of the Think Resilient badges, with girls between seven and 25 benefiting from the sessions.