Despair can overwhelm teenagers as the end-of-year exams loom but there are ways parents can help

‘The world is bigger, expectations and possibilities greater, security less assured. Their existential fears are genuine.’ Photograph: Halfpoint Images/Getty Images. Posed by a model

I work in a large trauma hospital and this time of year we see things no one should see. Road and air ambulances are delivering patients and our incredible teams of emergency specialists, surgeons, anaesthetists, intensive care physicians and other highly trained specialists work around the clock to give these patients another chance.

Depression and dark thoughts can occur anytime, but towards the end of the academic year, as deadlines and pressures peak, so too can despair.