Mental health and mental ill-health in young people
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Presentation by Hunter Institute of Mental Health Senior Project Officer Liz Kemp for Hunter Youth Mentor Collaborative network and learning meeting, May 2016.
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Mental health and mental ill-health in young people
- 1. Mental health and mental ill-health in young people Elizabeth Kemp Hunter Institute of Mental Health
- 2. Hunter Institute of Mental Health Hunter Institute of Mental Health is a leading national organisation dedicated to reducing mental illness and suicide and improving wellbeing for all Australians. For more than 20 years we have been delivering successful, evidence-based mental health and suicide prevention programs from our base in Newcastle, NSW.
- 3. Overview • Key terms: – Mental health – Mental ill-health (mental health problems & mental illness) • Prevalence: – Mental ill-health • Key issues for young people • Help seeking • Questions.
- 4. What is mental health? “…a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” (WHO, 2004, p. 12) • Mental health = positive capacity = social and emotional wellbeing = behaviour, thoughts and emotions ≠ mental ill-health ≠ happiness.
- 5. What does mental health look like? • Capacity • Skills • Ability
- 6. Why is mental health and wellbeing important? • Healthier lifestyles • Better physical health • Improved recovery from illness • Fewer limitations in daily living • Higher educational attainment • Greater productivity • Greater employment and earnings • Better relationships • Increased social cohesion • Improved quality of life.
- 7. Mental ill-health Mental ill-health refers to the spectrum of problems that interferes with an individual’s cognitive, social and emotional abilities including both ‘mental health problems’ and ‘mental illnesses’. • Mental health problems: a disruption to our usual level of social and emotional wellbeing • Mental illness: a clinically diagnosable medical condition such as anxiety or depression.
- 8. Mental illness in adults • Each year in the Australia adult population: – 20% of people will experience a mental illness – 14% will experience an anxiety disorder – 6% will experience depression – Many people have more than one diagnosis • 45% of people will experience a mental illness at some time during their life. More information: www.sane.org
- 9. Mental ill-health in Australian youth
- 10. Young Minds Matter Survey (2015) www.youngmindsmatter.org.au • 1 in 7, 4 – 17 year olds had a mental health problem in the previous 12 months = 560,000 children • Prevalence rates stable but illnesses have changed: • in ADHD • in depression • Prevalence in families where other risk factors are present: parental unemployment; sole parent families.
- 11. Mental illness in children and young people • Highest prevalence of mental illness is in young people 12 – 17 years • Depression and anxiety are the most common forms of mental illness in young people – 1 in 13 children aged 11 – 17 years meet diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorders – For girls aged 16 – 17 years this is 1 in 5.
- 12. Self-harm and suicide In last 12 months for young people 12 – 17 years: • 1 in 12 had self-harmed – Girls (16 - 17 years = 1 in 6) • 1 in 13 had seriously considered suicide • 1 in 40 had attempted suicide – Girls 16 - 17 years, 1 in 7 considered suicide – 1 in 20 attempted suicide
- 13. Key issues facing young people • Bullying • Gender identity • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) • Transitioning from childhood to adolescence: – Brain and physical changes – Social and emotional changes – Puberty and mental health – Early onset puberty. • Groups at increased risk of mental ill-health: – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing – Child abuse and mental health – Children with additional needs – Multicultural issues and mental health – Rural and remote communities. Fact sheets and podcasts: www.responseability.org/home/fact-sheets-and-podcasts
- 14. It’s ok to ask for help Help-seeking is a skill and strength. Encourage others to reach out for support when they need it: • Friends, Family, GP, Psychologist • Kids Helpline – 24-hour telephone counselling 1800 55 1800 – Webchat and email options www.kidshelpline.com.au
- 15. Summary • Key terms: mental health, mental ill-health (mental health problems and mental illness) • Mental ill-health is common • Mental illness is a medical condition like physical illness • Help seeking is a skill which can be encouraged and learnt • There are a lot of places people can access for help.
- 16. Further information • Response Ability: www.responseability.org • SANE Australia: www.sane.org • beyondblue: www.beyondblue.org.au • Kids Helpline: www.kidshelpline.com.au • ReachOut: www.au.reachout.com • Youth Mental Health First Aid: www.mhfa.com.au/cms/youth-course- information • headspace: www.headspace.org.au
- 17. Questions ???
Editor's Notes
- Acknowledgement of Country I would like to start by acknowledging that we are meeting on the land of the Awabakal people who are the traditional custodians of this land. I would like to pay respect to the elders past and present and extend that respect to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people present.
- According to the World Health Organisation “There is no health without mental health” Mental health is therefore an essential element of our overall health. It is also more than just the absence of mental illness. The World Health Organisation define mental health as a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. So Mental Health relates to positive capacity and our ability to manage our behaviour, thoughts and emotions, we will look at this further on the next slide. An alternative term for ‘mental health’ is Social and Emotional Wellbeing and this is a term that is generally preferred by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds…. So mental health refers to a person’s psychological, social and emotional wellbeing. It is a positive capacity that makes up our overall wellbeing. A person’s mental health is not always at optimal levels and can fluctuate over time depending on the influence on what’s happening in our lives and by the risk and protective factors around us. It is important to note that mental health does not equal mental ill-health…. We will talk about mental ill-health shortly… it refers to the spectrum of problems that interfere with an individual’s cognitive, social and emotional abilities including both ‘mental health problems’ and ‘mental illnesses’. It’s also important to note that mental health does not equal happiness, it doesn’t mean you are happy all the time. A mentally healthy person will experience a range of emotions such are fear, anger, sadness, joy, disgust and surprise. There is a lot of misuse and incorrect representations of mental health (in the media, the general public AND also among professionals). The situation is also complicated by the fact there is a range of language used in this space and alternative definitions of mental health. For example an in-patient ward is sometimes referred to as the mental health unit – but the people are actually there for treatment of mental ill-health.
- So what does mental health look like? Mental health enables: Our capacity for positive personal development: emotionally, intellectually and creatively; Our capacity to form and maintain positive and respectful relationships; The ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions and understand the feelings of others; Our skills in communication that include assertiveness, empathy and negotiation; Our ability to solve problems, make informed decisions and accept responsibility for actions; and The capacity to set realistic but rewarding goals and to actively work toward these. Or It is our ability to manage thoughts, feelings and behaviour so that we can: Experience satisfaction and happiness in our life; Cope with stress and sadness; Achieve our goals and potential; and Maintain positive connections with others.
- Mental health and wellbeing has been linked to a range of positive outcomes in other areas of life and human activity, such as:
- A person’s mental health is not always at optimal levels and can fluctuate over time depending on the influence on what’s happening in our lives and by the risk and protective factors around us. It is important to note that mental health does not equal mental ill-health. Mental ill-health refers to the spectrum of problems that interfere with an individual’s cognitive, social and emotional abilities including both ‘mental health problems’ and ‘mental illnesses’. Mental illnesses are clinically diagnosable medical conditions such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, eating disorders, and bipolar disorder. Clinicians use the set criteria in the DSM – Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to work out if someone has a mental illness. People may also experience mental health problems which indicate a disruption to our usual level of social and emotional wellbeing. They could result from natural responses to events and stressors in our lives. Often they will resolve over time or when the situation changes. However if they persist or increase in severity they may develop into a mental illness. Like physical health, the level or quality of our mental health and wellbeing can change over time, depending on what is happening in our lives.
- Now let’s look at mental illness. So in Australia each year: 20% or 1 in 5 people will experience a mental illness Depression and anxiety are the most common forms of mental illness and each year: 14% of people experience an anxiety disorder 6% experience depression Other types include substance abuse disorders, psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, personality disorders Many people have more than one diagnosis so they may have an anxiety disorder and depressive disorder for example. And over the lifetime almost half of the population or 1 in 2 people will experience a mental illness. So lifetime prevalence is 45%. If you want more information about mental illnesses please visit the Sane website – or beyondblue also has a lot of information. So mental illness isn’t uncommon. You may find people are not as open about talking about experiencing mental illness / most people are pretty open about physical illness but there is stigma around mental illness. But mental illness is just like physical illness, it is a medical condition. Organisations like HIMH and others are working together to reduce stigma and increase people’s awareness, acceptance and ability to respond to others experiencing mental illness. and things are starting to improve which is great but we still have a way to go. We will touch on this later when we will talk about help seeking.
- National Child & Youth Mental Health Survey, released 2015 - 6,300 parents (child aged 4-17) - 3,000 young people > 11 yrs – New element to this study asking young people themselves to complete the survey on their own. Often a young person’s view on their own mental health is different to their parents view on their child’s mental health. Previous survey 2000 (Sawyer et al.)
- In terms of the age of onset, many mental illnesses have their first onset during adolescence. Approximately 50% of mental disorders occur prior to 14 years, and 75% of mental disorders occur by 24 years. This means that for the majority of people who will experience a mental illness it will start to occur in their school years and the time in which they are in classrooms.
- Conservative estimates as many young people choose not to say. 87% with severe disorders are getting help. Schools provided services to 40% of young people with mental disorders.
- Help seeking is a skill which we can improve and learn to do more of Being able to ask for help is a strength! So being able to identify when we need help and then being able to ask or seek out that help is valuable skill. Often things get worse because people don’t seek help, become isolated less able to cope and so on. Sometimes people may be reluctant to seek help because of stigma. Remember we spoke about mental health being just like physical health so if someone broke their leg they would seek medical assistance. If you think of mental ill-health as being when our ‘mind is not well’ if someone is experiencing symptoms of mental ill-health we can encourage them to take the same approach and attitude of kindness we show ourselves with our broken leg and get help. Note: Kids Helpline ages 5-25