More than 75 per cent of mental health problems occur before the age of 25.
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However, of all age groups, young people are less likely to seek professional help than anyone else.
According to Caroline Thain, the clinical lead at Headspace Launceston, one of the biggest misconceptions around mental illness is that someone shouldn't seek help unless they have a diagnosed condition.
However, considering one-fifth of all young people aged 11 to 17 will experience high, or very high levels of psychological distress, Ms Thain said early intervention was crucial.
"Here at Headspace we see people who are having difficulty just managing the emotion of anxiety or sadness, remorse or regret," she said.
"That is absolutely a time when you can see a mental health clinician because you don't have to have a diagnosed mental health condition to seek help.
"I think a lot of young people don't realise that. They think you have to be really unwell before you see someone.
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"But we know that more enduring mental health difficulties usually are present under the age of 14.
"So if we can pick them up earlier and provide intervention earlier, then it changes their trajectory."
Headspace provides counselling and support services for youth aged between 12 and 25, to reduce the impact of depression, anxiety, stress, alcohol and drug use.
It also works to improve relationship issues associated with sexuality, sexual health, families, and bullying.
In Launceston, Ms Thain said demand on Headspace services was at an all-time high.
The waitlist for people requiring ongoing one-on-one work with a mental health clinician recently peaked at eight weeks, while the organisation also stopped offering its drop-in service in January because of the associated wait times.
Ms Thain said the changes were part of a goal to triage patients more effectively, to ensure people didn't fall through the gaps.
"Often we would have 10 people turn up and be in the waiting room and it would be difficult to know who I needed to see first," she said.
"Some would get sick of waiting and would walk out of the building. So we were losing people and they were falling through the gaps.
"So although there was some anxiety within our team and also externally around 'Headspace doesn't have a drop-in service anymore', it's actually far more effective this way.
"We are actually seeing more family and friends with the young person, and our entry point - it might be slightly slower, but we are only talking by days."
In light of demand, Ms Thain said it was important to recognise existing evidence around mental health prevention, including a move towards risk-oriented detection and early intervention.
A big part of this, she said, was ensuring family and friends were educated about different mental health conditions - particularly topics that were topical, but common areas of difficulty.
Starting next month, Headspace Launceston will host a series of community forums addressing a range of topics associated with mental health.
Starting with anxiety on September 2, Ms Thain said young people experienced better mental health outcomes when they had family or friends supporting them behind the scenes.
"We have tried to pick topics that are of interest to family and friends, and are perhaps tricky to discuss - like anxiety," she said.
"It is the most common mental health difficulty across population groups. So on average, one in four Australians experience anxiety. And breaking that down more, it's one in three women and one in five men.
"The other thing we know is for adolescence and that developmental stage, it's normal to experience different emotions, because our brain is still developing.
"From a parent and friend point of view, it can be really hard to pull apart what is normal emotional development, and what is behaviour and actions that might mean they need more help.
"That's why these information sessions are so important."
Headspace Launceston's free information nights will be held at the Tailrace Centre from 7pm.
- September 2: anxiety
- September 24: alcohol and other drug use
- October 29: exam stress
For more information visit headspace.org.au.
Anxiety from the perspective of a 19-year-old man
Q: When did you know that anxiety was a problem for you?
A: It wasn't like a lightbulb for me. My mum started telling me she thought I had anxiety. I knew that things weren't going well for me in my life. I wasn't doing as well as I thought I should at soccer. Even training was becoming difficult. I noticed I would feel anxious before parties with friends. Any new situation or new person I would meet would be difficult. I started to ask myself - 'what is this feeling? What is going on?'.
Q: What did anxiety feel like for you?
A: My heart would beat fast and I often felt tired, and generally lethargic. My whole body just felt floppy or weak. My thoughts would race. I would often be stuck and focused on other's perceptions of me and I worried constantly about judgments from others.
Q: How did anxiety impact upon you?
A: It stopped me from doing a lot of stuff. Whenever I would go to say something, I'd get like a sudden rush in my body. It felt like adrenaline. Then my thoughts would go around and around and I would overthink every word I wanted to say. It was hard to have even simple conversations.
Q: How has therapy helped you?
A: Therapy has helped me by giving me a lot more scope to understand my thoughts and feelings more. I now understand the 'snowball effect' that my thoughts can have on me. Therapy grounds me and this helps me have more confidence to communicate with my friends and family.
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