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Pop a Pill and MeditateReleased: 2020 and published in 2022 in Obsession
By Brea Lancaster The Australian mental health system is failing our young people.
Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses impact our everyday life and should be treated like any other disease. But so often they're not spoken about, and not treated as they should be.
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Unfortunately, young Australians are less likely than any other age group to seek professional help.
The figures are shocking.
One in four young Australians is at risk of serious mental illness.
One in seven young Australians aged 4-25 experience a mental illness in any given year.
And unknown to many: suicide is the biggest killer of young Australians.
Isobel is 19. She’s from rural Victoria and she suffers from severe depression, psychosis, anxiety and anorexia. Since the start of 2019 – following numerous suicide attempts in 2018 – Isobel has been seeking out help from GPs and Psychologists.
In the last four months, she has seen four psychologists.
All of which have so far failed to help her.
Isobel told her GP about her plans to kill herself in the days following one of their appointments, and he was the only one who did something to help her. He immediately called an ambulance because she was a risk to herself. Hospitals are designed to be the best place to receive care during a mental health crisis.
However, after 5 hours of supervision, with Isobel being completely honest about her intent and mental well-being, they sent her away.
It’s as if the hospital had no care for her mental health.
There was no discussion of admission.
There was no discussion of further meetings to check-in.
There was next to no follow-up care organised.
They referred her case to CATT – the Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team - who assessed her as ‘fine’ and discharged her from their service.
How can a young person reach out for help and still get sent away to die?
Not two days later, Isobel reached out to CATT for help and advice on tackling her strong suicidal thoughts. This team, whose sole purpose is to assess and help those with mental illness told this vulnerable girl to:
The figures are shocking.
One in four young Australians is at risk of serious mental illness.
One in seven young Australians aged 4-25 experience a mental illness in any given year.
And unknown to many: suicide is the biggest killer of young Australians.
Isobel is 19. She’s from rural Victoria and she suffers from severe depression, psychosis, anxiety and anorexia. Since the start of 2019 – following numerous suicide attempts in 2018 – Isobel has been seeking out help from GPs and Psychologists.
In the last four months, she has seen four psychologists.
All of which have so far failed to help her.
Isobel told her GP about her plans to kill herself in the days following one of their appointments, and he was the only one who did something to help her. He immediately called an ambulance because she was a risk to herself. Hospitals are designed to be the best place to receive care during a mental health crisis.
However, after 5 hours of supervision, with Isobel being completely honest about her intent and mental well-being, they sent her away.
It’s as if the hospital had no care for her mental health.
There was no discussion of admission.
There was no discussion of further meetings to check-in.
There was next to no follow-up care organised.
They referred her case to CATT – the Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team - who assessed her as ‘fine’ and discharged her from their service.
How can a young person reach out for help and still get sent away to die?
Not two days later, Isobel reached out to CATT for help and advice on tackling her strong suicidal thoughts. This team, whose sole purpose is to assess and help those with mental illness told this vulnerable girl to:
“TAKE A VALIUM AND MEDITATE”
As if that was the answer to all mental health problems.
As if that would save Isobel from herself.
It is a known fact that rural communities are grossly underfunded and don’t receive as many resources as larger communities do. So why is it Isobel is receiving the same, if not worse, level of care over 150 km from her hometown in rural Victoria? This is an abhorrent fact that our government should be aiming to change sooner rather than later.
The way our mental health system is currently working is what’s continuing to let these vulnerable young people down time and time again.
It could be said that unless you have private health insurance and the money to afford inpatient treatments, you are deemed less worthy of help.
Few people in the public system actually receive the help they need.
Medication doesn’t work unless young people have a support system to back it up.
This is how young people view the mental health system: because that IS how it operates.
We cannot continue to ignore the harsh reality of our mental health system: you have to have money to get help in this fraudulent system.
This wouldn’t be the case if our mental health system received funding where it is needed most. Our government needs to start allocating the allotted mental health funds to hospitals so that they are better equipped to help those suffering from severe mental illnesses.
‘Beyond Blue’ and ‘Headspace’ are both worthy organisations that deserve funding. They're integral to providing education and resources about mental health.
They, however, do little to help young people when they are on the verge of taking one too many pills or tying the knot on the rope.
They are good for prevention and knowledge, but if a young person is at risk, they should be able to feel safe in the hands of medical professionals, which funding abhorrently does not allow in our current position.
The suicide rates of our young people in Australia wouldn’t be as high as they devastatingly are if they weren’t sent away from hospitals, GPs and other services designed to help with mental illness.
I know far too many young people who have taken their lives.
And others continue to live with this silent but deadly disease because they are too afraid to speak up and seek the help they are rightfully entitled to.
I'm calling on our government to step up and allocate the money to this system so ALL of our young people are protected at all costs. There should be no determining factors about who deserves to receive help in our failing system.
Young people like Isobel deserve to feel safe and protected.
They deserve to be heard and receive the help they are seeking.
Young people deserve to live.
If our mental health system wasn't such a failure, we wouldn’t be losing so many of our friends and family to suicide. Mental health is an integral part of life in both – young and old, and our mental health system should be designed to reflect that.
As if that would save Isobel from herself.
It is a known fact that rural communities are grossly underfunded and don’t receive as many resources as larger communities do. So why is it Isobel is receiving the same, if not worse, level of care over 150 km from her hometown in rural Victoria? This is an abhorrent fact that our government should be aiming to change sooner rather than later.
The way our mental health system is currently working is what’s continuing to let these vulnerable young people down time and time again.
It could be said that unless you have private health insurance and the money to afford inpatient treatments, you are deemed less worthy of help.
Few people in the public system actually receive the help they need.
Medication doesn’t work unless young people have a support system to back it up.
This is how young people view the mental health system: because that IS how it operates.
We cannot continue to ignore the harsh reality of our mental health system: you have to have money to get help in this fraudulent system.
This wouldn’t be the case if our mental health system received funding where it is needed most. Our government needs to start allocating the allotted mental health funds to hospitals so that they are better equipped to help those suffering from severe mental illnesses.
‘Beyond Blue’ and ‘Headspace’ are both worthy organisations that deserve funding. They're integral to providing education and resources about mental health.
They, however, do little to help young people when they are on the verge of taking one too many pills or tying the knot on the rope.
They are good for prevention and knowledge, but if a young person is at risk, they should be able to feel safe in the hands of medical professionals, which funding abhorrently does not allow in our current position.
The suicide rates of our young people in Australia wouldn’t be as high as they devastatingly are if they weren’t sent away from hospitals, GPs and other services designed to help with mental illness.
I know far too many young people who have taken their lives.
And others continue to live with this silent but deadly disease because they are too afraid to speak up and seek the help they are rightfully entitled to.
I'm calling on our government to step up and allocate the money to this system so ALL of our young people are protected at all costs. There should be no determining factors about who deserves to receive help in our failing system.
Young people like Isobel deserve to feel safe and protected.
They deserve to be heard and receive the help they are seeking.
Young people deserve to live.
If our mental health system wasn't such a failure, we wouldn’t be losing so many of our friends and family to suicide. Mental health is an integral part of life in both – young and old, and our mental health system should be designed to reflect that.
