We're kicking off Children's Mental Health week with this poem from Suruthi who has lived with JIA since the age of 3. Some of you will know Suruthi from our ParentZoom calls which she helps to coordinate. We know that by sharing her experiences, she has helped give hope to many parents/carers as well as being an inspiration to young people with JIA to know that JIA doesn't have to stop you following your dreams in life.

Suruthi's poem so brilliantly fits in with the theme of Children's Mental Health Week 2025 of 'know yourself, grow yourself.'

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Letter to my younger self

The other kids run while you sit on the side
but that doesn't make you weak
I know you want to be like them
But remember you're unique

It sucks that you can't sit like them
assemblies are the worst
teachers act like they know you best
making judgements that may hurt

There'll be people who don't believe
They act like you're a fake
The pain will really hit you
and your heart will break.

You may not believe me now
But in the future you will say
I have arthritis
and you won't feel so ashamed.

Right now it's your darkest secret
but remember to be proud
It won't be fun and some days hard
but crying is allowed!

Time is a healer,
You'll forgive your body for the pain
Because it may work differently
But you'll love it just the same.

Suruthi

We asked some of our community to share a few words about how their JIA affects their mental health. 

We'll be sharing some important posts all this week for Children's Mental Health Week. Please do comment, like and share to show your support to young people like Caelan who are bravely sharing insights into life with JIA.

Michelle, parent of a young person with JIA, shared this quote with us for Children's Mental Health Week.

We often hear how are children with JIA are superheroes with all that they go through, but the truth is that parents/carers are also heroes and that they too can feel a mental health burden when their child is diagnosed with a chronic condition such as JIA.

Michelle's quote is an important reminder of just how important parents and carers are and also how vital it is to look after our own mental health and well as looking after our children.

For Children's Mental Health Week, today we are sharing a poem by a very talented member of our community. Kyle is a young person with JIA who uses poetry as a creative way of expressing his feelings as he is learning to live with his chronic condition.

Kyle has shared the poem "Dear future me" with us which so emotively expresses some of the worry, anxiety and burden that a diagnosis of JIA can bring but ends with a verse of hope. This is the juxtaposition that we see in the work we do as a charity. On the one hand recognising the many challenges that life with JIA brings (often experienced by our volunteers as well, who have lived experience of JIA), whilst on the other hand demonstrating that there is hope beyond diagnosis - that with the right treatment and support, many children and young people can go on to live a very full life.

Thank you Kyle for sharing this powerful and poignant poem with us.

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Dear future me,
The curtain has risen-
My destiny unveiled.
The diagnosis hangs;
My soul, a heavy anchor.

Dear future me,
As I start to come to terms
With this restricting burden,
I wonder how I can go on,
Living a life that’s not mine.

Dear future me,
My meds are hardly working,
And my stomach is churning
The idea of being trapped
In this prison-like body.

Dear future me,
Are you even managing?
Things started to get better,
But as I write this letter,
They are slowly decaying.

Dear Past me,
Thank you for staying so strong -
I am here today because
Of your noble bravery.
Things certainly aren’t perfect,
But I’m trundling along,
Praying future me begins
To weigh the lighter anchor.

By Kyle

The poems that we have been sharing this week from young people with JIA have resonated with so many. Today we are sharing another incredible poem by Abbie and Sam sharing some of the frustrations of living with JIA and more specifically not being listened to when they should have been.

It takes courage to share your story, whether that be via our JIA stories page on our website or in the creative form of poetry, so we'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has been contributing their poems and experiences this week for Children's Mental Health Week.

And thank you to everyone who has liked, commented and shared our posts this week. You are helping to make a difference by spreading the word and raising awareness.

As a parent- and patient-led charity, your voices are always at the centre of everything we do and we look forward to sharing more next month for Juvenile Arthritis Month.

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I want to tell you how I feel,
For what you see is never real.

The daily pain I can hide so well
A quick look, you could never tell.

Daily pills, injections, blood tests and more
To tell you it all would be a bore

So many appointments to attend
Never knowing when they will end

Doctors and nurses saying it's all in my head
If only they had believed what I said

Surgery, physio and yet more tests
They finally see what I knew best

But how does that help me now
I am lost and broken just asking how

You missed the things that hurt me so much
And made me feel like I was losing touch

I am left alone to work things out
You will never understand what you did with all your doubt

The thoughts of my future and what it will bring,
You wouldn't know, it's not your thing

So now it's time for me to take control
To tell my story and let you know

No child should suffer like I did
To not be believed, as if I fibbed

We may be small but our thoughts count
Never again will I let you doubt

I have Juvenile Arthritis, not you
I know how it feels, I can tell you too

So any questions, please just say
Don't guess and believe as you may

I may look fine,
But looks can lie.

By Abbie and Sam

As Children's Mental Health Week draws to a close today, we wanted to take a moment to talk about why it is so important to be aware of the mental health challenges that children and young people with JIA and other rheumatic conditions may face.

We also know that the BSPAR Standards of Care for Children and Young People with JIA published well over a decade ago in 2010 recognised the need for mental health support to be included as part of the care that those with JIA receive.

Yet we know this standard still isn't being widely met. Many parents turn to us for support instead which is why we developed our Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub to signpost to some of the best 'tried and tested' mental health resources available to support families. Whilst we are not mental health specialists ourselves, the families we support have told us how helpful they have found our support services, which in turn have had the knock-on effect of helping their child's mental health as well as their own.

And whilst it is important to recognise that JIA can affect more than just your physical health, it's also important not to lose sight of the fact that for some, their mental health may not be impacted significantly at all. It is very much a case of being aware of the potential impact and ensuring that mechanisms are in place to check-in with a child and family should they need additional support and this is what we are asking for.

Please see our Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub at www.jarproject.org/hope/wellbeing where you will find resources to help as well as links to other specialist organisations if you ever need urgent support.

*Sources include:
Li et al (2023) doi: 10.3899/jrheum.220067
Davis et al (2017) doi: 10.1186/s12969-017-0214-9
Fair et al (2019) doi: 10.2147/OARRR.S174408
Livermore et al (2023) doi: 10.1186/s12969-023-00898-5
Pedersen et al (2023) doi: 10.3899/jrheum.2023-0084