Seymour College celebrates R U OK? Day with week of activities

Seymour College mental health practitioner Cathrine Smith said studies showed the period of being aged 12 to 24 years old was the most important in terms of the wellbeing of young people.

“It actually shows us that mental ill health is more likely to occur during that time and a time when kids are turning to their peers rather than parents or families or carers,” she said.

“Being able to teach students about the importance of checking with each other, because it’s really important, so it’s a big part of why R U OK? Day is really important to us.”

Seymour College is celebrating R U OK? Day for the whole week to ensure all the kids check on each other.

“We didn’t really want to run this on a Thursday and later in the week without having that possibility of if somebody does ask, appear if they’re okay,” Ms Smith said.

“We want them to be supported all the way through the week, so that can feel really comfortable and calm doing that as well.”

Local mental health nurse Elizabeth Kruck deals with patients all over the region, with different diagnoses of mental ill health.

She said some of the patients did have thoughts of suicide or self-harm, and she had a role to play in preventing these thoughts.

“My role as a mental health practitioner in that space is really around being open to holding space and safety for people if they are experiencing those thoughts,” she said.

“Rather than shying away from it or panicking about it, or, you know, feeling overwhelmed about it in myself, is really helping people to explore that.

“Obviously, experiencing suicidal thoughts is really frightening for people.

“It can be a really scary time, and so helping people to explore where those thoughts are perhaps coming from, what are the experiences they’re having that are driving those thoughts?

“Then we build a safety plan of sorts around their own resilience, or building a safety plan around what supports they have, what services they have.”

Even if you are not a mental health practitioner, checking in with your peers and family is still a way to help.

“I think checking in is just one of the most powerful things really you can do to help someone,” Ms Kruck said.

Ms Smith also emphasised that following up was just as important as checking in the first place.

“It’s not just about asking, ‘Are you okay?’, it’s really around asking and checking in a little bit later and making sure they know they’re supported,” she said.

“That's probably the really big one, and it’s okay as well not to know all of the information.”

Ms Smith also said she was proud of younger generations who were aware and more open about their mental health.

“I really appreciate how driven the students are,” she said.

“Young people have access to so much information and are really self-aware.

“They’re good advocates as well for themselves. I’m really proud of the fact that students are now able to go, ‘Actually, I'm not feeling okay with this’ or ‘This is beyond my boundary’.

“That’s a really positive shift as well, because long-term they’re going to have better health outcomes.”

Visit ruok.org.au to find out more about the campaign. Those needing support can also access free mental health services such as: