Kerre Woodham: A damning indictment on NZ when you see how miserable many young people are

Yesterday, after a young caller called in talking about the fact he hadn't been able to go into work because of issues around his mental health, I was surprised at the number of texts and emails I received almost immediately.

These were from people who were either experiencing similar stress and anxiety themselves, or had family members who were.

The texts came flooding in and now seeing the data this morning from a survey of 1000 New Zealanders, I understand why.  

73 percent of the respondents aged between 18 and 34 said they had been so stressed in the past year they could not cope. That’s 73 percent of 18 to 34 year olds.  

More than 60 percent of those young adults said they'd felt sad or hopeless almost every day for a couple of weeks or more. 40 percent of 18 to 34 year olds had seriously considered suicide or self-harm in the past year.

40 percent.

They felt so desperate that they seriously considered hurting themselves. It is a damning, damning statistic.  

I always considered it to be like the equivalent of winning Willy Wonka’s Golden ticket - to be born here, to be born in this country where everybody has a chance, everybody has an opportunity, everybody will be looked after if they need to be.

If, through some awful stroke of fate, you're unable to care for yourself, here is a community that will help you look after yourself.

It doesn't feel so lucky anymore, and certainly it would appear that young New Zealanders don't feel they've won the Golden ticket at all by being born here.

It's just a damning, damning indictment on this country when you see how miserable so many young people are.

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