Leah Treloar speaks on her journey of helping her son through personal mental health issues and what others can do to help

A Sunshine Coast parent has opened up on the struggles and successes of dealing with her son’s mental health battle as the Daily teams up with Wishlist to shed light on youth mental health in the Five Reasons Why series.

Sunshine Coast mother Leah Treloar has seen and been affected by the struggles of mental health through her son's experience as a teenager.

Miss Treloar’s son Samuel had struggled with mental health problems such as severe social anxiety from the age of 14.

She said it would be difficult to deal with the problems Samuel was going through while trying to find the most convenient way that would help the both of them.

“At home he was fine but outside he was very quiet, very withdrawn, quite depressed, didn't want to see anyone, talk to anyone or go anywhere,” she said.

“It was frustrating because he wouldn’t (want) to help me with anything if it involved leaving the house.

“In my mind getting him to do things might help him but he wouldn't want to leave the car, he wouldn’t join in any family functions or social events.”

Miss Treloar said they eventually found a positive approach through the help of Child and Youth Mental Health Service (CYHMS).

“We contacted them and went through a few things before they put him in a new program where someone would come out and spend some time with him quite frequently,” she said.

Miss Treloar said that really helped her understand how she could help Samuel through certain challenges he may have been facing.

“Once I understood what it was I had a way of forcing him into doing certain things because I thought it was important to do so,” she said.

“The stress was always their so I did let him off a lot of things because of the problems it caused with everyone but if I knew how he was feeling I always knew how hard I could push him.”

She said encouraging him and taking the time to understand how he was feeling really helped.

Samuel Treloar, 19, is coping much better with his mental health struggles and is currently working at the Maleny Golf Club.

Samuel, now 19-years-old, is studying at tafe in Brisbane and works at the Maleny Golf Club.

Miss Treloar said it’s been a long journey.

“He still has a long way to go but he has definitely improved significantly,” she said.

“He finds that if there is enough incentive to do something he will do it which works well within his studies, his job and social events.

“Where he is and what he’s doing now are things I would've never thought could happen and that’s a massive thank you to the people that have supported him in this journey.”

According to the National Mental Health Commission, 75 per cent of young Australians said the pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health.

Sunshine Coast Hospital And Health Service psychiatrist doctor Rachel Taylor said the best thing to do is to identify the problem and seek support as early as possible.

“It’s such an isolating situation for a young person dealing with those symptoms, so finding ways to make it safe to speak about what is going is can help,” she said.

“It might be through the school guidance counsellor or a GP.

“If you are a parent, don’t avoid the problem, try and sit down with your young person and try and communicate.”

Teenage mental health issues gained international attention through the successful TV series 13 Reasons Why.

The Sunshine Coast Daily has teamed up with Wishlist to run a five-part series, called Five Reasons Why, to show how close the issue is to home and the importance of donating money.

Wishlist aims to raise $2 million to house and service patients at its new Wishlist Centre - with mental health issues being a major concern among its young clients.

All profits from the sales of the first weekly Sunshine Coast Daily print edition on August 27 will go to Wishlist for Wishlist Centre.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing depression or anxiety or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner. Support is also available through Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.