Record numbers of Warrnambool youth are seeking mental health help through headspace.
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Community awareness and engagement worker Kayla Mugavin said the past financial year has seen a stark increase with 525 new Warrnambool young people seeking help and a total of 963 young people in the city received a headspace service.
"Throughout 2018-19, there was a record breaking number of young people seeking help," she said.
"In total there were 3,421 occasions of headspace services accessed by Warrnambool young people."
According to headspace one in four young Australians will experience a mental health issue each year.
"We've worked really hard as a team across the year to get headspace known to young people and to provide a great services for them," Miss Mugavin said.
"Young people are the ones who are walking through our doors to get help, at the end of the day the effort is all on them."
Miss Mugavin said there are seven tips to help build and maintain healthy mental health and the importance of self-care. These are: get into life, learn skills for tough times, create connections, eat well, stay active, get enough sleep and cut back on alcohol and other drugs.
To mark headspace day on October 9 and mental health awareness week, the Warrnambool mental health service team orchestrated events across the city.
'Boost Your Mood' walk along the Warrnambool Promenade was a chance for young people, their family and friends to come together and promote physical activity.
A key tip promoted by headspace is to stay active and Miss Mugavin said it's a vital component to overall well-being.
"The walk aimed to promote staying active and create connections through a social environment," she said.
"We had a around 20 members of the public and staff come down to the walk which was great considering it looked like rain and it's exam time.
"We're hoping to do more walks, especially coming in to summer."
Students at Deakin University were given the opportunity to learn and experience the strong link between food and mental well-being at a free smoothie bowl event.
"Another one of the seven tips to maintain a healthy headspace is eating well," Miss Mugavin said.
"This event at Deakin is a way we can do something fun, promote health for students and let them know about our services.
"Eating well is a huge part of mental health, it's key to keeping overall health and helps us stay alert."
This event also focused on learning how to get ready for exams with simple tips to help build and maintain a healthy headspace.
To mark the end of mental health awareness week, this Friday Blue Illusion in Koroit Street, is holding a fashion parade from 12 pm to 3 pm with proceeds supporting headspace Warrnambool.
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