Peace of mind

We all respond to challenges differently, but for many New Zealanders, navigating the uncertainty of a global pandemic has had a serious impact on our mental health. From children to parents, the elderly and those living alone, no one has been immune to the unprecedented pressures of 2020 and mental health services are continuing to see a marked increase in demand.

Emma Clifton speaks to those at the coalface about the challenges of living through a pandemic and where they’re finding hope.

HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELLOR

SUE POUPOUARE

It’s an indication of just how large a part technology plays in a teenager’s life that during the lockdowns, when Western Springs College Head of Counselling Sue Poupouare was keeping in touch with her vulnerable students, she was doing so via email, text, Instagram message and phone calls.

The range of mental health issues facing teenagers remains, by and large, the same as it ever was. “Not fitting in, not looking the same, not being in the right clique, not achieving at school, the expectations of family, of society,” Sue says. But the actual reality of being a teenager has shifted “tremendously” since she first started at Western Springs in 1999. The Auckland school, with a roll of 1705 students, is one of the biggest in New Zealand. It’s a multi-cultural school with a mixed range of socioeconomic backgrounds. But there is absolutely one common denominator: cellphones.

In the early 2000s, Sue says, there was a sprinkling of social media sites and the main advice counsellors gave to parents was, ‘keep your computer in the lounge so you can keep an eye on what your children are up to.’ “There’s fat chance of that now,” she laughs. “They’re all on their phones 24/7, they literally do not get a break. Back in ye old days, when I was at school, I would get bullied and I would go home and get a break. That doesn’t happen now.”

Over the past few years, Sue had already seen a “noticeable”