Teen's viral TikTok sees Kiwi youths pour out their hearts online

A 13-year-old girl’s TikTok on New Zealand’s mental-health system has gone viral.

In it, North Shore teenager Sophie Eddington says her friends were told by a Lifeline dispatcher they were “too young” to be feeling the way they do.

Sophie says she wants young teens like herself to be listened to when it comes to their mental health.

“When you’re younger, what we hear most of the time is just: ‘Oh, you’re too young’, ‘This is the first of many things’, ‘You’ll get over it over it someday’.

“So, that’s something that really needs to change,” she says.

The teenager has suggested holding a protest in Auckland to raise awareness.

The TikTok now has more than 46,000 likes and 7198 shares. Her video’s comment section is overflowing with young people sharing their experiences of mental health.

New Zealand has the highest youth suicide rate in the world.

The Mental Health Foundation’s Mark Wilson said he was surprised a mental health worker would belittle a young person’s struggles.

Mr Wilson says everyone has the right to be heard, “no matter their age”.

He says youth mental wellbeing is a top priority for the Ministry of Health, but that “there is always a case for more to be done”.

Historical underfunding of the health system has left some crisis cases with long wait times, says Mr Wilson.

The foundation believes in preventive programmes and would like to see a more holistic understanding of mental wellbeing integrated into schools, he says.

“How do we educate and learn how to deal with a situation - with rejection, with failure, with disappointment, with tragedy? These are quite big things.

“And we at the [MHF] are quite keen to see those explored through early childhood and high school,” Mr Wilson says.

Sophie told Te Waha Nui she received an “insane” amount of support after posting her TikTok.

“A lot of DMs and people making videos about me, saying they’d love to help . . . my work is appreciated. It made me feel really good about myself,” she says.