Opening up about youth mental health is not always the easiest task, but Redcliffe’s 2025 Youth Parliament Member Abby Smith has found a way to make it transformative.
When Quiet Becomes Dangerous: Breaking the Mental Health Cycle is a rumination on the complex nature of adolescent mental health issues, authored by Ms Smith and published by YMCA Queensland Youth Parliament (QYP).
Ms Smith said, in drawing on the theme of her literary exploration, that sometimes the hardest part of dealing with mental health battles is not the struggle itself – it is staying silent.
“As the 2025 Youth Member for Redcliffe, I have learned that silence can be dangerous, especially when it comes to mental health,” she said.
According to Ms Smith, she knows this personally, recalling times she “held everything in because I did not want to burden anyone.”
“It was not just a momentary feeling; it became a constant companion that shaped how I saw myself and my place in the world,” she said.
She said her piece on youth mental health came from reflection, research, and lived experience, wanting the narrative “to be relatable, truthful, and empowering.”
Encouraging Awareness and Support
“It was not about highlighting despair – it was about showing that growth, resilience, and hope are possible, even when life feels overwhelming,” she said.
Ms Smith said that it was her view that society often struggles to understand what it means to be young today.
“Social media pressures, academic expectations, and constant comparisons create a world that can feel relentless,” she said.
“Adults may dismiss these experiences as ‘normal teenage stress,’ but young people’s mental health is real, urgent, and deserves attention.
“Supporting youth means creating early intervention pathways, peer support networks, and open spaces where well-being is normalised.”
Through Youth Parliament initiatives, Ms Smith works to connect young people to support, to reduce stigma and to “empower our community to take mental health seriously.”
To read Abby Smith’s literary piece, search for the title on the QYP blog at Your Voice Heard website.
If you are struggling with mental health, you can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 for immediate, 24/7 support, and for an emergency in Australia, you must dial 000.
Read more stories from our Redcliffe Guide print magazine here:
- Reddy Roundup: Updates from the Community
- What’s Hot Around Town
- Podcast Review: The Imperfects
- Brad’s Business Tips
- Running on Empty by November?
- British Cinema Comes to Brisbane
- Organic Gardening in November
- Art of Banksy Chapter 2 Premieres in Brisbane
- Grass Emperor – Lethrinus laticaudis
- Stop Snacking, Start Eating Real Food
- Get Creative for Christmas at Redcliffe Art Gallery
- Unlocking Inner Calm in Redcliffe
- Coins a Commodity in Redcliffe
- Artists View Moreton Bay Through Fresh Eyes
- Local Student a Baseball Star
- Henry Ibberson Tubbs: Multiskilling in Early Redcliffe
- Meet Jack Roney – From Real Crime to Crime Fiction
- New School Program Inspires Personal Growth
- Teen Trio Making Noise Across Moreton Bay
- Creating a Better World for Women: 16 Days of Activism in Redcliffe
- Reflect: An Art Exhibition to Contemplate
- Sparkle-Loving Shoppers Stuck on Sue
