Voices is the Dorset Echo's weekly youth page - written for young people by young people.

This week Darcy argues we should all speak out to raise awareness of mental health issues.

Across the country people are suffering unnecessarily and even dying prematurely due to a silent killer - poor mental health.

This includes students of all ages within our education system and many of these students are expected to deal with more than they realistically can.

A person's mental health is not a physical illness that can be seen or treated like the flu but if caught, they can be managed.

There are many different types of mental health issues including depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and stress to name a few.

These disorders affect the way people are able to deal with and react to normal, everyday situations and despite the image they may portray to those around them they may not be fully coping.

With mental health awareness week last week, it is vital that everyone understands not only the dangers of mental health disorders but also what causes them.

As a student I suffer from stress. When I have high levels of stress, I struggle to cope and withdraw into myself. I have found that when this occurs I have a tendency to experience panic attacks.

This has caused further stress for my family as they want to help but are unable to. More and more students are struggling with their mental health on a daily basis. So what is being so done to help combat the ever increasing problem of poor mental health in schools?

It is my opinion that schools and the NHS struggle to deal with poor mental health as it can be hard to diagnose and people are afraid to admit their problems.

People do not want to admit that they need help due to the stigma that surrounds poor mental health. Social acceptance of mental health difficulties is key to supporting our young people.

Having high profile campaigners that our young people can relate to increases awareness and kick-starts the change in attitudes towards people with mental health difficulties.

By Darcy Barrett