It’s OK to not be OK! Each year during Blue Tree Week at Trinity College, students immerse themselves in a range of activities to help raise awareness and spark those difficult conversations about mental health.
Max’s Story Year 12 and Prefect student Max took the courageous step during the College’s annual Blue Tree Week to share his personal mental health story to help others understand what it can mean to ‘not be okay’ and help break down the stigma that is largely attached to mental health in young men. Max, alongside 2022 Young West Australian of the Year and Blue Tree Project CEO, Kendall Whyte, unveiled a wall at the College, dedicated to Max’s story and to serve as a daily reminder to all students that ,it’s okay to not be okay,.
I’m Max Beros, a Year 12 student and a College Prefect. As daunting as it may be, today my goal is to share my mental health story in the hope that if it assists just one boy in having the courage to seek help then I have made a difference. My Trinity College journey started way back in Year 4 2014, eight years ago. I was quite a shy person and didn’t say much in my first couple of days at school. I only knew one person at Trinity when I started. Walking into such a massive school, I felt like a grain of rice in hectares of paddocks but eventually I began to find my feet by the end of Year 4. In Years 5 and 6, I made strong friendships, many of which are still my friends to this day. High school marks a new chapter in everyone’s life. For me I settled in reasonably well; however, in saying that I had anxiety about a couple things. The main one was playing sport. Upon reflection this was because when I was playing footy in Year 6 I got a concussion. This scared me at the time and played with my mind, and I really didn’t want it to happen again. That nauseous feeling kept returning every time I played sport! I was adamant that something was wrong with me, but mental health never came to mind. I attended numerous MRIs and neurologist appointments. Out of fear I didn’t play winter sport in Year 7. As long as I wasn’t exercising, I seemed okay.
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WINTER 2022 – TRINITY NEWS
It was coming to the end of the school year, and I remember exactly the day. It was the fourth last day of Year 7. I walked out of PCG that morning and I got that nauseous feeling. All of a sudden, I had to sit and couldn’t move. Going home that day, not wanting to see anyone from my school out of embarrassment, was one of the most isolated feelings I have experienced. I knew Year 8 would be tough. Over the summer I didn’t leave the house, I sat at home and tried to avoid any social activities. Year 8 didn’t start well. It became a snowball effect; my anxiety was increasing and I was on the downward spiral. I didn’t go to school for the first week of Year 8. The second week I only made it for three days. From that point on until Term 4 school was a daily challenge. In Term 4 and with constant support from my family, teachers and school psychologist I was finally able to swing together a full five-day week. This was a massive achievement, especially for my family. Missing important events like family birthdays, school socials or big sporting events made me think I didn’t want my life to be like this at all. My head was filled with negative thoughts and I would lay at home in bed, thinking how do I come out of this.
