There we go.
Okay so...
it’s not working for me.
Okay, so we all have those moments where we're
meant to be doing something, but we avoid doing it and do something else instead.
Like right now I meant to be writing the rest of this story, but I'm not.
And recently Australia's Productivity Commission which has a thing or two
to say about productivity has found that I'm not the only one avoiding something.
Stats show the rate of school attendance in Australia is steadily dropping,
especially since 2021. Attending school on a regular basis is compulsory in Australia
up until the age of at least 15 or even older than that depending which state or territory you
live in. So not going to school when you’re younger than that is obviously a problem.
So why do you think high school students might be avoiding coming to school?
I think social anxiety is probably the biggest problem, you know it’s something a lot of
people can relate to but that you know certain people you know can’t manage as well as others.
I definitely think that when something gets harder or more stressful it’s more easier to
just back out of the situation because then you won’t have the deal with it. I
remember a while ago I would have, it would like every second Monday or something like
that I would be really emotionally exhausted from the weekend and I would just take the
Monday off because I just couldn’t deal with going straight back into school.
It’s different for every student but for some students it could be just they
don’t see a future for themselves so what’s the point in coming.
Mental health issues are sometimes the hardest
reason for students not to come to school. Sometimes they can prevent
them from having a good time and just feeling like it’s a safe environment.
The Productivity Commission and some experts agree that mental health is
one of the biggest factors especially post COVID.
The general feeling Amelia of you know not feeling like going to school is actually
more common I think people realise because people don’t' tend to talk so much about it.
Certainly the pandemic’s had a significant impact on increasing our anxiety levels,
our stress levels and it’s really interrupted our mental health and wellbeing in so many ways.
The whole time COVID was around it sort of feels like it was a blur really, just everything melted
together. Not that we’re moving out of it, things just seem a bit more you know clear
and in your face which could be why some kids just aren’t really ready to tackle that yet.
When we all went online that contrast from being at school and having the
support that you need and you can take a break whenever you want, coming back
to school and having more structure was definitely a hard process for me.
It was more okay for people to isolate themselves and people saw that as normal, whereas normally
people would think ‘oh maybe they need help’ because they’re not coming out as often.
The brain is there to keep us safe Amelia so it will tell us
if it feels it's under threat don’t do that thing, just do not do that thing.
So how can we solve this problem? How do we get
over our feelings of avoidance or reluctance to do something?
The first thing is do not blame yourself if you are feeling this way. This is not your fault,
it is a very normal human experience. The next thing is, is ask why you know,
there’s always a reason for everything we do. For some of us it helps to get a pen and paper
out and just write all your feelings out about why you don’t want to be there. If you can get
enough hours of sleep at night you are going to have better wellbeing, better thinking the next
day. The other is movement... so that movement could be just like a shake off like dogs do.
It does feel good!
Do anything to move because when we’re anxious, so social anxiety, this neuro
chemical feel builds up in your muscles right, and the more you’ve got of that the less you can
think straight. Ask for help, tell someone preferably tell someone who can help you.
So a lot of those tips will help me as well because I am someone that experiences anxiety
as well, so it’s really good to hear some of those tips that I can also use.
Well thank you for sharing that Amelia because you know anxiety
is actually such a normal part of being a person.
Yep.
And we’re all looking for help.
Do you reckon there is enough support for people with mental health issues in schools?
It’s not so much that we don’t have enough support,
it’s just students feeling brave enough to go out and ask for help like I think
that we need to have a more of a focus on empowering students to ask about health.
I mean our school is pretty amazing, it’s got like a wellbeing room like there’s lots of cushions,
things you can do, fidget, and I feel like all schools should
create that experience so that students can feel safe.
What keeps you coming to school?
What keeps me coming to school is just looking like into the
future and to seeing what I want to achieve in life.
The best reason to come to school is friendships and relationships
you can build with both your teachers and students and to really find your people.
Tell yourself that there are people there who want you there,
want to see you. That makes it a lot easier to get through.