Around this time of year, Hannah marks an anniversary. But she’s not commemorating a happy event. Far from it. Because on 2nd June 2015, Hannah tried to take her own life. 

“That day, I came home from school and I just had enough. I’d asked for help with my anxiety so many times, but I never got an answer. There was nothing there for me. I just felt, what’s the point? If I’m going to be stuck feeling this awful way forever, what’s the point in being alive?”

 For years, Hannah was affected by mental illness and she found it difficult to get help. 

“You’re always told, ‘Don’t be afraid to ask for help’,” she says. “But when you do ask, there’s never any answer. It’s so heartbreaking when you finally work up the courage to voice the horrible things you’re experiencing and you just get ignored.”

“I felt abandoned by the mental health care system when I needed it the most. That made matters worse. I withdrew from friends further. I couldn’t get out of bed. Then I started to panic about my school exams. It got to the point where I’d just had enough. So I attempted to end my own life.”

Thankfully, Hannah was able to call an ambulance. Paramedics rushed her to hospital for medical attention – which meant that 2nd June wasn’t the day Hannah’s life got cut short, at the young age of 16. But even after reaching the depths of attempting suicide, Hannah still wasn’t judged to be severely ill enough for intensive treatment in a psychiatric ward. “Within hours of trying to take my own life, I felt like the mental health worker in hospital dismissed me as a dramatic, attention-seeking teenage girl.”

Sadly, three out of four young people are turned away from getting the help they need, when they bravely ask for it. And when Hannah did finally receive some care, it didn’t make things any better – only worse.

“I spoke to the local GP about my anxiety, but he just referred me to an online course for adults. I was 16 at the time, so I found it completely unsuitable for my needs.”

“I remember thinking, ‘Is that it? Is that all there is?’ I started seeing a psychologist, but Medicare only covers 20 sessions with a mental health professional. That isn’t nearly enough time to address any mental illness properly. You need time to build up trust – especially when you’re so young.”

For many young people, their illness is too serious for the entry level services on offer. But they are not yet severely ill enough to access specialist mental health services. That’s what we refer to as the ‘missing middle’. Young people like Hannah are falling through the cracks, as their illness isn’t treated properly and their symptoms are left to worsen.

“A young person shouldn’t have to end up in an emergency room before getting help. There seems to be a large gap between 20 basic sessions with a psychologist, and emergency room care on the other. There needs to be something in the middle.”

From her own experiences, Hannah knows how utterly devastating it feels to keep getting turned away – and how it can lead to the darkest, loneliest places.

 “The moment I attempted suicide, I saw my dog looking back at me and I thought, ‘No, I can’t leave you…’ So I called the ambulance. When it arrived, one paramedic said, ‘You should’ve just asked for help’. I was thinking, ‘You literally have no idea. I’ve asked for help so many times.”

At Orygen we're on the path to revolutionise mental health treatment with a new approach – seamlessly integrating the entry level services at one end of the range with the specialist care at the other, to reach the young people in the middle.

 If Hannah had benefited from this innovative approach to mental health care, then perhaps she wouldn’t have found herself in such a dark and lonely place on 2nd June 2015.

“I started getting affected by anxiety when I was about 12. I couldn’t engage socially and I just felt awful all the time. I asked for help, but nothing happened. I withdrew from my friends even more. I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. My year 11 exams were coming up and the stress became overwhelming. On 2nd June, it all just got too much…”

Hannah looks back on that day as a low moment, but her struggles are far from over. Hannah is currently studying an arts and law degree while working as a paralegal. She was awarded Young Citizen of the Year in her community for her campaign to reduce the stigma of mental illness and improve mental health care. Yet her own struggles still hold her back.

“I don’t know what it’s like to be mentally healthy and thriving. I’m just existing, nothing more. I still feel like I’ve got to fight so hard for the support I need just to survive.”

 “I started seeing a counsellor at university and it’s really helped. But I only get six sessions. So I’m forced to ration them. Even if I’m feeling awful, I don’t want to use up a session – I need to save it for when exams come around and I know I’ll feel even worse.”

Anxiety is soaring among young people, and as Hannah has experienced, it can be a life-long and life-threatening condition. Help nearly came too late for Hannah. If she hadn't been able to call an ambulance, or if she hadn't seen her dog looking at her with loving eyes, Hannah may not be here today. That's why here at Orygen we're working hard to develop new approaches to mental health care, and close the 'missing middle' gap.

Since 1992, the team at Orygen has been working hard to raise critical funds to ensure young people are supported through their mental health journey. With continued support from our amazing community we can not only help to save lives, but transform them.