New figures have revealed 52 per cent of young Australians with mental health problems are too embarrassed to discuss the problem and 49 per cent were afraid of what people would think.

The stats come just a week after The Leader reported 74 per cent of attendances at the Tamworth’s youth-counselling service headspace, were for mental health issues– 8 per cent higher than the national average.

Although the service offers help in many other areas, such as sexual health, family relationships and alcohol or drug use, centre manager Linden Ross said the mental health figures weren’t a negative at all.

“I see that as a positive because young people are reaching out and wanting to talk about the problems they are experiencing,” Mr Ross said.

“It’s just, as the centre has been developed by the youth reference group, by the consortium, that it’s just given that openness to come talk about the anxiety or depression they are experiencing.”

While the stigma around mental health may be preventing more youth from engaging with their problems, Mr Ross said other barriers impeded regional sufferers.

“In smaller communities, transport’s a barrier, the access to services and cost is a barrier,” Mr Ross said.

The renewed push to remove feelings of shame from dealing with mental illness comes as headspace launches a national campaign to break ‘the big stigma’.

Isolation was pointed to as proliferating the stigma, as Mr Ross said there could be a feeling “no one else is experiencing at the same time they’re experiencing it.”

Youth reference member Sharna Hawes said there could be be a lack of resources for young people wanting to get help.

“In the 18 to 25 demographic, there’s still a lot of people that still aren’t seeking help,” Ms Hawes said.

Mr Ross said breaking down the stigma was key to overcoming mental health problems.

“When that stigma has been broken, it doesn’t seem to be as high of a hill to climb,” he said.

“They can have the tools to support themselves, so it’s finding that place to go to or that activity that makes you feel engaged.”

AT A GLANCE

Mental health is about wellness rather than illness.

To make things clearer, some experts have tried coming up with different terms to explain the 

difference between ‘mental health’ and ‘mental health conditions’. Phrases such as ‘good mental health’, ‘positive mental health’, ‘mental wellbeing’, ‘subjective wellbeing’ and even ‘happiness’ have been proposed by various people to emphasise that mental health is about wellness rather than illness. While some say this has been helpful, others argue that using more words to describe the same thing just adds to the confusion. As a result, others have tried to explain the difference by talking about a continuum where mental health is at one end of the spectrum – represented by 

feeling good  – while mental health conditions (or mental illness) are at the other – represented by symptoms that affect people’s thoughts, feelings or behaviour.