Today I will be doing my presentation on mental health and more specifically analyzing a 15 year old boy named Nick’s mental health. To start off, what is mental health? Well, mental health refers to a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being. Here are some quick facts to start off…- In each year, approximately one in every five Australians will experience a mental illness.- About 3% of Australians are affected by psychotic illness; such as schizophrenia, where there is a loss of contact with reality during episodes of illness.
– Mental illnesses are the third leading cause of disability in Australia.- Around one in 35 young Australians aged 4-17 experience a depressive disorder.- In a year over 2 million Australians will suffer from anxiety.- Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment.Now I will be talking about Nicks mental disorder. So what is Nick suffering from? Nick is, unfortunately, suffering from anxiety. We can tell that he is suffering from anxiety as he speaks of feeling sick, getting headaches, suffering from dizziness, getting shortness of breath and feeling nauseous.
All these are obvious signs of anxiety. Many teens like Nick also suffer from anxiety, it is not uncommon, this can affect teens both physically and mentally, messing with their actions and thoughts. Since Nicks symptoms demonstrate the physical effects Ill cover the mental effects and more complicated physical effects. Anxiety and depression are very similar, anxiety and depression both often lead to experiencing one another if left untreated, the side effects of these include feeling useless or like life is not worth living, the build-up of adrenalin can lead to stomach aches at random times and cramps, anxiety also leads to concentration problem and social problems. So what causes anxiety? You may be wondering…well anxiety is often a mixture of emotions, like an overflowing glass, you keep adding features and eventually, it becomes too much and you develop anxiety – an overreaction of fear to everyday circumstances.
Some segments that may also be in that “jar” include death, abuse or pregnancy. Anxiety can often be passed through genes, making it pretty easy to develop anxiety. Lastly, the most common factor of anxiety is stress. An overload of stress put on top of other factors can lead ultimately to anxiety.Luckily there are people Nick & others with anxiety can get help from such as a family member, a trustworthy friend or a teacher.
Its good to get help as sometimes they may come up with solutions you had never thought of, in this case, Nick could consult a family member such as his mother about getting a tutor, he could ask a teacher for extra help or he could just let his emotions out on a trustworthy friend. All, in my opinion, would be of help to him. Finally, if Nick or someone suffering from anxiety really had nobody to talk or didn’t feel comfortable chatting to somebody they knew, then they could talk to a professional they don’t know such as Beyond Blue, Headspace, the Blackdog institute or the kid’s helpline. These lines give professional help and support through real people and anonymous online chat rooms/phone lines. They also give out information sheets on several different disorders outside of anxiety such as depression, autism and bipolar disorders with ways you can self-help and understand your condition more yourself.
