The COVID Effect
A large part of We Are Worthy’s offerings were spurred by the advent of COVID and its immeasurable effect on young people in Australia. The pandemic hit us all hard, it’s true, but in our formative years, an event like this can have profound effects on our physical and mental wellbeing. To give you some context, one in three young Australians are experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress, triple the number compared to 2007 (1). To what extent the pandemic has contributed is still to be determined, however, it is clear that young people need support with their wellbeing needs now more than ever.
“Wellbeing approaches in schools are largely reactive and patchy at best.”
In my own experience, as a secondary school teacher, I have seen that young people have unique wellbeing needs. The approach of telling our angsty teens to ‘just meditate’ isn't working. If you’re between the ages of 12-20, the last thing you need is someone to tell you to ‘just relax’ in a single yoga session organised by the wellbeing team; or for your year level coordinator (also in charge of discipline) to have a conversation about why you are so angry. Although these are a start, they are not the preventative measures that I believe are desperately needed for this group.
Teens are a closed book that I know well. For starters, I was one, and by interacting with thousands of them over 15 years in education, they have and have not changed in recent times. Young people are under more pressure than ever and the modern world has thrown in some sneaky challenges that their parents could never have anticipated. Advents of new technology and the knowledge economy are virtually impossible to navigate for the developing mind. Social media, the power of advertising and increasing consumer pressure all have an impact. Throw on top this, climate change, gender and sexuality identities, Black Lives Matters, Me Too, the list goes on. How can a young person possibly be expected to have their head around all this? Just to put icing on the cake, COVID hit and took away all those real world supports, you know the hugs from that favourite Aunt that can’t be replicated, or a weekend camping with the family to reset. A perfect storm of mental health issues in young people arose and they are still feeling the effects.
A 2020 survey by ‘Headspace’ showed that 12-22 year olds ability to carry out daily activities were impacted by the pandemic and that levels of distress were increasing among Australian youth as a result (2). Particularly vulnerable were students starting Secondary school in 2020, who felt the stress of social isolation and disconnectedness. In a world where connection is at their fingertips, why are these feelings increasing and what can be done to counteract it?
Schools have taken the lion share of the mental health and wellbeing load, however they are swamped. Wellbeing approaches in schools are largely reactive and patchy at best. Not that the schools and teachers are to blame, I’ve met a drove of passionate wellbeing teachers and support staff who are keen to contribute. However the system is unable to cope with the growing needs of young people and they are drowning in reactive measures that band-aid the problems.
As an educator, I wanted to see the other side of the coin. To try to prevent the mental and physical deficits youth were experiencing and create a change in the tide.
“We Are Worthy offers a preventative approach to the mental and physical health needs of this group. ”
If the pandemic left us all with a lesson to learn, it was that we all have to find contentment in the present moment. To release fears of the past and future and to hold on to what we know to be true. Young people searched within themselves, went internal to discover what really mattered and in this way our introspection led us to a greater understanding of ourselves and our abilities. At the end of the day, we learned that we alone need to be the ones to hold steady as the storm approaches. The problem here is that some of us have the tools to do this. Resilience they call it, but what happens to those of us that don't have those methods to anchor when the waves come. Many young people fall into this category (I was one of them myself), COVID may have been the first storm, or perhaps they never really coped through the previous storms in their lives. The Headspace Youth Mental Health survey (2020) highlights that young people continue to struggle to cope with the stressors in their daily lives (2). We Are Worthy offers a preventative approach to the mental and physical health needs of this group. They need tools, practical strategies to take into their daily lives to cope with the ups and downs that life will bring. The workshops, immersions and term program aim to provide tools that are specific to this group too. The good fight is being fought in Primary school-age students, with some amazing mindfulness-based programs, such as ‘The Resilience Project’ and ‘Smiling Minds’. However, there is a sense that by the time kids reach 12 their mental health needs are solidified. This is not the case, more than ever youth 12-20 need the strategies to be well in this crazy world and the We Are Worthy offerings aim to provide this.
1. Sawyer, M. G., Arney, F. M., Baghurst, P. A., Clark, J. J., Graetz, B. W., Kosky, R. J., et al. (2001). The mental health of young people in Australia: Key findings from the child and adolescent component of the national survey of mental health and well-being. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 35, 806-814.
2. Insights: Headspace National Youth Mental Health Survey 2020.