A month of awareness
I met a young man a few years ago, a student at the time, who had started to turn his life around and was enjoying and attending school regularly. On the outside, he was a healthy teenager who just had some trouble engaging at school, I didn’t recognise the pain he was starting to suffer. This young person moved away from our services at Youth Off The Streets and to another city. Gradually he became overwhelmed by an intense internal trauma.
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October is mental health month and this year we are asked to share the journey for better mental health and wellbeing. What I want to share with you is one of the reasons I think we should take mental health so seriously.
These days mental health issues are far too common, particularly in young people. Issues of anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and many more plague some of our most vulnerable people.
Sadly not enough people get help with these issues, which often extend from some form of abuse, and those that don’t get help addressing their health often go on to suffer from further disadvantage, a life of crime or spiral downwards into alcohol and other drug abuse.
It can be easy to tell when someone is not physically healthy and it can be easy to miss signs that someone you care about is struggling, but we need to take those extra steps to help our friends, family, colleagues and anyone else in your life.
Father Chris Riley
CEO and Founder at Youth Off The Streets
The time to act is now
Some say it takes 21 days to form a habit. If that’s the case, Aussies who started to make small changes to reduce their stroke risk during National Stroke Week (September 3-9), will be well on their way to a healthier future.
On behalf of the Stroke Foundation, I would like to congratulate these people and all who helped spread the stroke prevention message during Stroke Week 2018. Keep up the great work!
I also want to take the opportunity to say it is not too late to make some simple changes to your daily routine, which would make a positive difference to your health and potentially even save your life.
Stroke is a devastating disease which can change lives in an instant, but 80 per cent of strokes are preventable by managing blood pressure and cholesterol and living a healthy lifestyle.
During National Stroke Week, with the help of thousands of incredible volunteers right around the country, we shared our five tips for a healthy life and a reduced stroke risk - stay active, eat a healthy, balanced diet, drink alcohol only in moderation, quit smoking and make time to see your doctor for a health check.
There will be around 56,000 strokes in Australia in 2018. Stroke attacks the brain, which controls our movements, speech, understanding and emotions.
I urge you to stop reaching for the salt or sugary drinks, walk an extra block to work or take the stairs instead of the lift. These small steps can go a long way to reducing your stroke risk.
Stroke does not just impact an individual, it affects family, friends and colleagues too. I urge you to act now to prevent stroke, for yourself and your loved ones.