Ben Keath, engagement officer at youth mental health service headspace, said young people in the area were more susceptible to poor mental health than their counterparts living in the city because of such factors as unemployment and access to fewer support services.

The stigma surrounding mental illness also remained a barrier to good mental health, he said, particularly for young men who might perceive talking about their feelings as unmasculine or a sign of weakness.

Anglicare Victoria (formerly St Luke’s) youth services manager Leigh Brown agreed the reluctance to discuss mental illness was detrimental to good mental health in youth.

She said talking about mental health issues was the most powerful way for young people to combat them.

“Talking about mental health issues should be as easy as talking about the common cold,” Ms Brown said.

Mr Keath said there remained a lack of awareness of the services available locally to help young people, which contributed to the problem.

Services available in Bendigo include headspace,  Anglicare Victoria and Bendigo Health’s youth mental health services.

Many young people were also unaware that services such as headspace could provide resources to assist with not only mental illness, he said, but other facets of life that could affect a young person’s mental health, such as employment and physical health.

Mr Keath said young people also had “a lot on their plate”, which could contribute to poorer mental health.

“Look at a Year 12 person these days - so much pressure to achieve well at school,” he said.

“Most probably work part-time, so they’ve got that as well.

“Most are probably engaged in some sort of… sporting club, or do volunteer work, there’s all this extracurricular stuff they’ve got to do on top of that massive workload that they’ve got during Year 12.

“You know, you throw in a bit of stress from family conflict or anything like that, it’s more than reasonable to feel stressed out.”

At any given time, one in 16 people aged 16 to 24 will be experiencing depression, and one in six will be experiencing an anxiety condition.

People aged 12 to 25 seeking help with mental health problems should visit the headspace online support website or call 1800 650 890.

If you are in urgent need of assistance contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or talk to someone you trust.

More information can be found at the beyondblue website and ReachOut.com.