Let’s Talk Mental Health

The school year has just begun. You’re back at school with classmates you know and are familiar with, embarking on the new journey that is VCE® Exam. The workload (hopefully!) hasn’t begun to pile up too much yet. Most students will feel a combination of excitement and nerves, which is completely normal. The adrenaline rush before exams, the occasional late night studying for a mid-year SAC, and uncertainty about your career options are also normal.

But problems arise when this stress becomes persistent and affects the quality of your life. Acute stress is a biological mechanism that allows us to deal with short periods of duress. Like almost any biological process, acute stress is a double-edged sword. It can heighten levels of concentration and performance, but may also lead to anxiety, panic or an expectation of failure. Learning how to manage these symptoms will be a topic for later in the year, when exams are around the corner.

 

Mental illness in young Australians

Chronic stress is a more sinister process. While it is normal to be a little more stressed in Year 12 than other years of school, chronic stress can impair normal functioning; daily activities like getting up for school, preparing lunch or hanging friends can become difficult. Stress is also a precipitating factor for mental illnesses such as depression.

This is now a major concern for the wider health and education community in Australia. Particularly over the last few decades, mental illness has become a ‘silent epidemic’, and we are only now beginning to catch up with it.

 

Figure 1: Relationship between age and the presence of symptoms of mental disorder in the previous 12 months. (Source: ABS National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results 2007)

The ABS National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (2007) found that more than a quarter of Australians aged 16-24 presented with symptoms of mental illness in the 12 months prior to the survey. Individuals of this age are generally school and tertiary students or young employees embarking on a new career. It’s a period of great change and opportunity, when people are faced with some of the most important decisions of their lives. Yet, according to recent research, it is also period of greatest susceptibility to mental illness.

 

What can we do about it?

As students, it is important to understand that none of us are trained psychologists and clinicians, so it is not our job to diagnose one another. What we can do is advocate for the health of our peers. If a friend of yours seems to be struggling to cope with the stress of VCE® Exam, a short, honest conversation could well be the positive change that turns their year around. Help create a welcoming environment at school and a safe discussion space for stress and mental illness. Be organised, but also leave some time in your schedule for relaxation or leisure. For more tips on how to balance your time in VCE® Exam and deal with the pressure of VCE® Exam exams, have a look at Maggie’s blog click here.

If you know that you or someone else may be suffering from a mental illness, there are plenty of resources out there that you can access, including school councillors, teachers, online resources, and of course, family and friends.

For more information and advice about mental illness, visit Beyond Blue’s website at www.beyondblue.org.au.

For immediate assistance, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or speak to a health care professional.