English: Thank you very much, Llywydd. This short debate stems from a conversation that I had with a young constituent a few weeks ago. He prompted me to look for new ways to encourage debate about mental health and specifically about how and where young people can turn for help, and I'm pleased that many Members have been prompted to want to contribute today, and I've agreed to give time to hear contributions from Mabon ap Gwynfor, Peredur Owen Griffiths and Jack Sargeant. But returning to that conversation I had recently, I was speaking to Gareth. He was the son of a farmer from Anglesey, a student studying law; a young, talented man, a confident man with a bright future ahead of him, I have no doubt about that. But like so many of his peers, Gareth has suffered challenges with mental health; not a bad personal experience, that's not what he has in terms of searching for support, that's not what has driven him. He had support, excellent support from his GP, but he knows about others that haven't been so fortunate to have the same level of support, and as I said, Gareth is a young confident man, confident enough to e-mail his Senedd Member to have a conversation and to lobby him, and I'm so pleased that he did that. But maybe there aren't so many people who are confident enough to do that, and vitally, maybe young people who suffer with their mental health, maybe they wouldn't be willing to do that when they feel vulnerable. I think that we are in a better place these days in terms of willingness to acknowledge mental health problems. Mental health wasn't something that we spoke about; it was a taboo subject, almost. Suffering in silence, that's what many people did, and I do feel that people - including young people - are more willing now to admit that there is something wrong. Maybe some people will suffer from intense problems, acute problems. I was a witness to that among people who were very close to me when I was a young man. That was my introduction to the reality of mental health. For the majority, the problem starts as a small one, and I'm sure that we all, all of us, can say sometimes that we feel stressed or we feel depressed or feel anxious, and I'm sure many of us turn to our own coping mechanisms, ways to respond ourselves when things aren't quite right. But many people will need some help. Young people will need someone to support them, and early enough, in the right place, that can prevent a problem from becoming worse, and prevent mental health problems from having a long-term impact on the life of a young person. The purpose of today's debate is to ask young people to help us as a Senedd, and through that, to help the Welsh Government to understand their experiences. On my social media platforms, I shared a questionnaire for young people, to invite them to share their experiences of trying to get access to mental health services. I hope that other Members today will be willing to do that as well, and we'll share the link to the questionnaire with all of you, of course. I've been in contact with a number of organisations working in the mental health area, and I will share the questionnaire as broadly as I can with them through organisations representing young people in Wales.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd. Mae'r ddadl fer yma yn deillio o sgwrs ges i efo etholwr ifanc ychydig wythnosau yn ôl. Mi wnaeth o fy ysgogi i i chwilio am ffyrdd newydd o annog trafodaeth am iechyd meddwl, ac yn benodol am sut a lle mae pobl ifanc yn gallu troi am help, a dwi'n falch bod nifer o Aelodau wedi cael eu hysgogi i fod eisiau cyfrannu heddiw, a dwi'n cytuno i roi amser i glywed cyfraniadau gan Mabon ap Gwynfor, gan Peredur Owen Griffiths a gan Jack Sargeant. Ond nôl at y sgwrs yna ges i yn ddiweddar; efo Gareth rôn i yn siarad. Mab fferm o Ynys Môn ydy Gareth, myfyriwr sy'n astudio'r gyfraith; dyn ifanc galluog, huawdl, hyderus; dyfodol disglair o'i flaen o, does gen i ddim amheuaeth am hynny. Ond fel cymaint o'i gyfoedion o, mae Gareth wedi profi heriau efo'i iechyd meddwl. Nid profiad gwael personol sydd gan Gareth o fynd i chwilio am help; nid dyna sydd yn ei yrru fo. Mi gafodd o gefnogaeth ragorol, meddai fo, gan ei feddyg teulu, ond mae o'n gwybod am eraill sydd ddim wedi bod mor ffodus i gael yr un lefel o gefnogaeth. Ac fel dwi'n dweud, mae Gareth yn ddyn ifanc hyderus, digon hyderus i e-bostio ei Aelod o'r Senedd i gael sgwrs a'i lobïo fo, a dwi mor falch ei fod o wedi gwneud. Ond prin efallai ydy'r bobl sy'n ddigon hyderus i wneud hynny, ac yn allweddol, o bosib, prin fyddai pobl sy'n dioddef problemau iechyd meddwl fyddai yn barod i wneud hynny pan fyddan nhw'n teimlo'n fregus. Dwi'n credu ein bod mewn lle gwell y dyddiau yma o ran parodrwydd i gydnabod problemau iechyd meddwl. Doedd iechyd meddwl ddim yn rhywbeth roedden ni'n siarad amdano fo; roedd o'n dabŵ, bron iawn. Dioddef yn dawel oedd cymaint o bobl yn ei wneud, a dwi yn credu bod pobl - yn cynnwys pobl ifanc - yn fwy parod i gyfaddef rŵan bod yna rywbeth o'i le. Mi fydd rhai yn dioddef problemau dwys, wrth gwrs, problemau acíwt; mi fues i yn dyst i hynny ymhlith pobl a oedd yn agos iawn ataf i pan oeddwn i'n ddyn ifanc - fy nghyflwyniad i i realiti iechyd meddwl oedd hynny. I'r rhan fwyaf, mae'r broblem yn dechrau yn fach, efallai. Dwi'n siŵr ein bod ni i gyd, bob un ohonon ni, yn gallu dweud weithiau ein bod ni'n teimlo straen, neu'n teimlo'n isel, neu'n teimlo pryder, a dwi'n siŵr bod llawer ohonon ni yn gallu troi at ein coping mechanisms ein hunain - ffyrdd i ymateb ein hunain pan dydy pethau ddim cweit yn iawn. Ond mi fydd llawer iawn o bobl angen ychydig bach o help - llawer o bobl ifanc angen rhywun i'w cefnogi nhw, help a all, o'i gynnig yn ddigon buan, yn y lle iawn, atal problem rhag tyfu yn fwy, ac atal problem iechyd meddwl rhag cael effaith dros gyfnod hir ar fywyd a pherson ifanc. Pwrpas y ddadl yma heddiw ydy gofyn i bobl ifanc ein helpu ni fel Senedd, a thrwy hynny helpu Llywodraeth Cymru i ddeall eu profiadau nhw. Ar fy llwyfannau cyfryngau cymdeithasol i, dwi'n rhannu holiadur i bobl ifanc, i'w gwahodd nhw i rannu eu profiad o drio cael mynediad at wasanaethau iechyd meddwl. Dwi'n gobeithio y bydd Aelodau eraill yma yn barod i wneud hefyd, ac mi wnawn ni rannu'r linc i'r holiadur efo chi i gyd, wrth gwrs. Mi ydw i wedi bod mewn cysylltiad efo nifer o fudiadau sy'n gweithio yn y maes iechyd meddwl, ac mi fyddwn ni'n rhannu'r holiadur mor eang ag y gallwn ni drwyddyn nhw, ac efo nhw, drwy fudiadau sy'n cynrychioli pobl ifanc yng Nghymru.