, was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 2016, and placed on suicide watch. For several months he stopped going to school and his mum stopped working.
Airey is relieved he didn’t feel suicidal during the pandemic, but his panic attacks returned after he lost work. Without his usual support networks through multiple lockdowns, he had to find new ways to cope. Running became a big outlet for him. Blashki says that while it’s a relief the rate didn’t go up that year, it’s clear that the pandemic has had a substantial impact on young people’s mental health.He adds that “as society we have to do much better” to bring down the suicide rate. “It’s just unacceptable that it’s higher than the road toll.”Simon Schluter
“There’s no evidence that you put the thought in their head,” he says. “Pick a good time and place to open up the conversation and listen … then you can point them to the right supports.”“I just ask them outright, ‘are you experiencing suicidal thoughts?’,” he says. “It helps to talk about it when you’re in that place, and it reminds them that there are people who care about them.