Victoria Koriaty, who grew up in Wagga and is now studying a Masters in Mental Health Science at Adelaide’s Flinders University, wants to encourage the community to reach out to those with mental illness to help them through what is a “stressful” time.

The Christmas period can often lead to the triggering of difficult and painful memories for isolated people, according to Ms Koriaty.

“(Christmas) is an important time, because it’s when families get together and a lot of the triggers happen in that time,” she said.

“Being around people, having a big celebration really makes them very vulnerable to the environment they’re in.”

Ms Koriaty said people with mental illness often didn’t have strong support networks to rely on, due to the stigma that often follows them, making the community’s help all the more vital.

“There’s a lot of stigma around mental illness, where people just think they’re sick and don’t want to have anything to do with them,” she said.

“They become very isolated from their family because they’ve gone through hard times with them.

“There are some supportive families out there who support their son or daughter or wife who have a mental illness, but there are some others out there who are very isolated or lonely.”

A lack of support for people with mental illness at this time of year can potentially trigger their entry into mental health facilities at this time of year – an outcome Ms Koriaty has experienced first-hand.

“It’s a safe haven away from all those distractions and triggers but it’s not a very pleasant one,” she said.

“It really isolates you and stops you from living life.”

Ms Koriaty said being able to reach out and talk to loved ones and close friends about problems made tackling them easier.