Being proactive on teenage mental health and suicide

On March 21, mental health advocate Nic Newling spoke to years 9-12 students about his teenage battle with mental health and eventual bipolar disorder diagnosis, and the death of his brother Christopher, who took his own life and was the subject of his mother's Human Rights Award-winning memoir Missing Christopher. He also provided advice on what teenagers can do to support each other during difficult times.

The school’s head of senior school, Adam Osborne, says while there have been no cases of Grammar students taking their own lives, they want to be proactive, rather than reactive and provide a culture at the school where students feel comfortable to talk about mental health concerns.

“We are bringing the situation from underneath the rug,” he said.

“A definite space is needed to invest time and energy and money to equip young people to flourish.

“Surviving isn’t enough. Young people feel that they can’t talk to anyone about this issue.”

As part of the school’s wellbeing program, talking about mental health and ‘checking in’ with students will be incorporated into daily year-based tutor time sessions with teachers.

And through the school’s house system where older students mentor younger students, there will also be a renewed focus on building relationships, so students feel comfortable talking about mental health.

The school will also be working closely with youth support service Headspace Penrith, bringing in more guest speakers to talk to students about mental health, and making students aware of the resources available locally.

The rate of suicide among Australian teenagers is alarming. 

Research from youth mental health program Orygen Youth Health, puts suicide rates among young Australians at their highest in 10 years and rates among young women have doubled during this time.

The most recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics for 2015, show that in NSW, intentional self-harm was the leading cause of death for 15 to 24-year-olds, with 66 males and 30 females taking their own lives that year.

A Department of Health report revealed that nationally in 2015, one in 10 young people aged 12-17 will self-harm, one in 13 will seriously consider a suicide attempt, and one in 40 young people will attempt suicide. 

Nic Newling says we should be creating an environment where teenagers feel comfortable opening up.

“The more that we share, the more we talk and listen, the more we are able to address issues of mental illness,” he said.

“In our culture we are actively discouraged to talk about yourself. We talk about superficial stuff.

“We all need to talk more amongst ourselves to get the help we need.”

He spoke of the important role schools had to play in creating an environment where students felt comfortable opening up without fear of judgement. And on an individual level, the importance of truly listening to each other.

“We often forget to listen. We will often jump into solution-mode and that doesn’t make the person feel like they are being listened to.”

But Mr Newling also stressed the importance of seeking professional help.

“Don’t underestimate the importance any of you have in someone else’s life, but you don’t need to shoulder it all.”

Year 12 student Callum Simpson said the talk was relevant to year 12 students going through stressful times with the HSC and for year 11 students it was “something good for them to have in their toolbox.”

With family and friends experiencing mental health issues, Callum said the talk had reinforced what he had learned in the past for dealing with these situations.

Fellow year 12 student Chloe Jensen said the talk highlighted the value of teamwork and it wasn’t solely an individual’s journey.

“It’s about having conversations. Someone’s coming to you with troubles and you should encourage them to seek help with mental illness and share,” she said.

Headspace Penrith is not working with any other Blue Mountains schools around suicide prevention.