A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
High school students are now so stressed that they are visiting doctors in the hope of being able to escape the pressure of a group exam, major test, or even just everyday lessons. Experts say an epidemic of anxiety in our schools is emerging from a storm of factors including the never-ending exposure to social [...]
The federal government has announced a $110m package targeting youth anxiety and depression, including $46m in funding to a beyondblue program to teach students about good mental health in early learning, primary and secondary schools. Online and phone support services including Kids Helpline and ReachOut will share an extra $1.8m in funding over two years, [...]
At a school in Perth, a group of teen girls is sitting in a circle, practising breathing techniques. One. Two. Three. Four. "I've only got a couple of minutes with them,'' a school counsellor tells me later. Why? Because if this cohort can't learn to slow-breathe in two minutes, they'll consider they've failed. Failed breathing? [...]
Owen feels compelled to make himself tiny, standing small in the corner with his arms folded while the family watches a movie. And he apologizes — a lot. This summer, as the 12-year old and his little brother Craig, 10, were gathering fallen apples near their home in the Salt Lake suburb, Craig decided to [...]
Adolescence is the life stage when mental illnesses are most likely to emerge, with anxiety disorders being the most common. Recent estimates suggest that over 30 percent of teens have an anxiety disorder. That means about one of every three teenagers is struggling with anxiety that significantly interferes with their life and is unlikely to [...]
The link between the two has been talked about for years, but a causal connection had never been proven. For the first time, University of Pennsylvania research based on experimental data connects Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram use to decreased well-being. Psychologist Melissa G. Hunt published her findings in the December Journal of Social and Clinical [...]
The discomfort of loneliness is as essential to humans as thirst or hunger. A survival instinct, it kicks in reminding us to reconnect to the group when we become isolated. But new research, Australia's most comprehensive study of loneliness to date, reveals not only its prevalence, but its paradox; the lonelier people feel, the less [...]
Anxiety can be defined as ‘a state consisting of psychological and physical symptoms brought about by a sense of apprehension at a perceived threat’. Fear is similar to anxiety, except that with fear the threat is, or is perceived to be, more concrete, present, or imminent. Presentation The psychological and physical symptoms of anxiety vary [...]
Genevieve Lee expected her final year of high school to be stressful, but the 17-year-old realised the pressure had become too great when her behaviour changed completely. The vice-captain of Gilroy College in Castle Hill said she felt "so burdened with the pressure" of achieving good marks and pleasing her Fijian parents, it was causing [...]
Dating apps have taken the world by storm, but has the trend for swiping right or left to like or reject potential matches contributed to many people's unhappiness and low self-esteem? Following the end of her last relationship, Kirsty Finlayson, 28, did what many people do - she turned to dating apps to find love. [...]
