Youth mental health organisations are being inundated with calls.
But they're less focused on bullying and typical school pressures and more worried about the state of the world.
Climate change, the housing crisis and the uncertainty of their futures - these are just some of the things youths are calling mental health services to talk about.
"A couple of years back it would have been bullying and family relationships but now we're seeing a lot more of the anxiety and depression that's impacting young people and that's because of the depressing world that they're living in," What's Up spokesperson Ban Al-Gailani said.
The world around them is changing rapidly and not necessarily for the better.
"We have big issues with child poverty, with housing crisis that impacts on young people's prospects and changes and now, of course, we have COVID-19 which has massively impacted everyone including young people. So it's really not surprising that young people are challenged by this," Mental Health Foundation chief executive Shaun Robinson said.
Recent findings from the Mental Health Foundation highlighted growing concerns.
"The proportion of the population with low well-being has gone from about 25 percent to 36 percent over the course of the pandemic," Robinson said.
In 2021, there was a 31 percent increase in e-chat demand at 0800 What's Up, in part due to the pressures of COVID-19 and long wait times for other mental health services.
"Unfortunately we can't answer all calls and chats. We are inundated. We answer to a high degree but definitely, there are so many young people reaching out," What's Up counsellor Elise Whitson said.
To youth advocates, these findings are no surprise.
"It does to me make sense that there is a rising sense of anxiety and fear around the future that is essentially being created right now because it's the one that young people will inherit," said activist Sophie Handford.
As we near the end of Mental Health Awareness week, groups like What's Up hope to expand to meet the increasing needs of our youth.
