An alarming joint report released today from Mission Australia and the Black Dog Institute has found that nearly 1 in 4 Aussie teenagers meet the criteria for having a “probably serious mental illness”.
The Five Year Mental Health Youth report, which presents findings from the past 5 Mission Australia youth surveys, found that there are more people in the 15-to-19 age bracket in psychological distress than there were five years ago.
What’s more, girls were reportedly “twice as likely as boys to meet the criteria for having a probable serious mental illness”, and almost a third of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents met the criteria, compared with 22.2 per cent for non-Indigenous youth.
“The effects of mental illness at such a young age can be debilitating and incredibly harmful to an individual’s quality of life, academic achievement, and social participation both in the short term and long term,” Mission Australia chief executive Catherine Yeomans said.“Their main concerns are coping with stress, school and study problems, coping with depression and anxiety, and body image.”
Black Dog Institute director Helen Christensen echoed similar sentiments.
“I think [the report findings] are considerably disturbing, and I think it speaks to the fact that perhaps [Australia] is not doing enough for young people as they go through adolescence,” Professor Christensen said.“You can get some people who experience something more serious than the usual angst that most people go through when they’re growing up, and because of vulnerability, past traumas, or a number of other factors they’re kind of propelled into a deeper and more frightening space.”
Not surprisingly, the report also highlighted the fact that more and more teens are using the internet as an escape.
“This might signal that we have a way to go to reduce the stigma of mental health issues, [because] young people are not prepared to admit they have a problem, so they’re looking for the anonymity of researching on the internet to try and seek help,” Ms Yeomans said.
“What we need to make sure is that when young people go to the internet they actually can find evidence-based, self-help tools and ways to refer to help and get the support they need.”
While there’s no singular solution to the problem, experts believe funded mental health programs in schools is paramount.
It’s widely known that treating depression in young people as early as possible is critical, and implementing educational, non-judgemental programs at a high school level could be helpful.
“At the moment we have a mixed bag of different programs that are offered throughout schools, [but] we think there should be a much more evidence-based, strategic approach to reducing depression and anxiety,” Professor Christensen said.“If people know how to recognise it and what to do in those situations we can stop the old way of keeping mental health behind closed doors, like we should be ashamed to feel bad. We shouldn’t.”
Source: ABC News.
Photo: The Virgin Suicides.
If you are experiencing anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts, help is always available. Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week), Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14. If you’d like to learn more about mental illness and how to seek help, visit Beyond Blue, Black Dog Institute, or Headspace.
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