Hello there, I'm a year 12 student with four months left of high school.
In the last six years mental illness has touched me and my friends in a
way that I can't forget. In particular, I've a friend who has Borderline
Personality Disorder. For the mo...
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Hello there, I'm a year 12 student with four months left of high school.
In the last six years mental illness has touched me and my friends in a
way that I can't forget. In particular, I've a friend who has Borderline
Personality Disorder. For the most part of last year (when we were in
year 11) the situation was on a knife edge. Her multiple suicide
attempts and overdoses made it hard to deal with the surface stuff e.g:
the pressure and stress that already come with VCE. I think the last
straw was really September last year when she publicly announced a
suicide note on facebook with all of our names tagged in it, and then
went missing. They found her at Flinders Street station, unharmed. After
that she was un-enrolled from school because she was too ill.
Nonetheless life has been much better for us all since last year, as
there is a degree of distance and we know that the right people are
looking after her.She is now at TAFE but she is by no means out of
struggle street yet. She made another suicide attempt last week. In any
case, that isn't what I'm here to talk about. For months after this
incident I have wanted to speak publicly and educate the school
community about mental health. However, I haven't had much luck at all.
You see, not long after what happened to our friend and right before the
end of year exams, a boy in the year above us committed suicide. It was
tragic; really horrible. At the funeral I couldn't help but feel angry
that something like this had to happen before people realised the
implications of depression and mental illnesses. It could have been my
friend. It could have been anybody in our school community. At the
beginning of 2013 I tried to organise a chapel presentation but we were
barred from speaking. I know that the school community was and is still
grieving, but that is all the more reason why I wanted to bring the
topic of mental health to the fore of discussion. The school prefers to
deal with it in more subtle ways - they are constantly informing us of
the benefits of "mindfulness" and caring for each other. I'm also aware
that a lot of work is done under the radar with students who have mental
health needs. I think that all of these measures are great, and I'm also
very much aware of how mental illness can be quite a sensitive topic -
but surely there is a place for public discussion of mental health with
student initiative? I guess I'm asking you all a question. Is mental
illness better tackled on a less public level? The teachers and admin
were trying to protect us from any implications that could have resulted
from our public address. They told us that schools consist of a whole
range of age groups, with different stages of development and needs, and
we can't afford to risk anyone taking our message 'the wrong way". I can
appreciate that, but in each of these demographics there are people who
are suffering. Surely there are people out there who are in the same
situation as my friends and I were, but with no knowledge of what to do?
there is so much that I wish that i knew, in retrospect, about how
better to take care of myself and my friends. I wish I could tell others
about my experiences, so that they perhaps don't feel so alone. How
could one address a school publicly about mental health from a student's
perspective? I have talked to those in school authority and I've made a
bit of headway, but somehow i don't feel it is enough. The Head of
Wellbeing says that he is trying to get in a speaker from Beyond Blue
this year, but with school bureaucracy and tight schedules it is more
likely to be next year. I suppose this is still a positive thing,
because even if i'm not there to see the benefits, I'm leaving a legacy
of sorts. Also, the school psychologist ( who actually knows me very
well now....) wants me to help out with "mindfulness sessions", the
details of which I'm not too sure about, but we're meeting on Wednesday
to catch up and hopefully discuss it. Overall, these measures are very
good, but I still feel like my purpose hasn't been fulfiled. I feel like
there is no student involvement, because they don't trust our initiative
regarding these matters and because we are young and inexperienced.
Perhaps the Head of Wellbeing would have organised a speaker without my
input. Perhaps the school psychologist doesn't really need my help with
these sessions and the ministry centre is just trying to appease me so
that i will shut up about it. I try not to think about it in that way,
though. I want to speak publicly, somewhere, somehow. i have a voice and
a story, and words coming from a fellow peer perhaps are more pertinent
than somebody a little older. I don't know, maybe my needs are also
personal. I need people to know that what happened was real, and I want
them to understand what it was like so that if they are ever confronted
with a situation like that, or if they ever see a situation like that
from the outside, perhaps they will be able to empathise a little
better. Generally I just want to know the consensus of how to go about
mental health education on a public scale . I think I came to the right
website to get that kind of information. I want to know if there is even
a small way I could impact my school community in a positive way before
I graduate, or even after I graduate. I feel like I've left unfinished
business that i can't just ignore.
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