'We've been left to ferment and swell in stress': How lockdown is affecting NSW teens

New South Wales high school students have detailed the impact of recurring lockdowns on their mental health, claiming the state's extended stay-at-home order has "ignored young people."

As NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian prolongs Greater Sydney's coronavirus lockdown beyond the original July 9 end date, one student tells 9Honey the move "not only interrupts our youth, but can also seriously impacts teens emotionally and mentally."

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"Our teenage years are supposed to be the peaks of our lives where we get to make the most fun memories and socialise with people other than your family members. Now, that's being put on hold even longer," they added.

A fellow student agreed, noting the lockdown extension is "aggravating" current high schoolers, and "could have been prevented as soon as the Delta variant was identified."

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"I also feel as though [the government] waited for the school holidays to lock us all down, instead of targeting the problem straight away, which is really frustrating for students across Sydney," they explained.

Another added, "It's frustrating that it's taken place throughout our entire holidays, but I'm not surprised it's being extended and I'm disappointed that more severe actions were not taken earlier that could have prevented this from being necessary."

Strategic Health Consultant Professor Bill Bowtell echoed this sentiment on Today this morning, saying Sydney made the mistake of not locking down sooner.

"It should have been a sharp, three, four, five-day lockdown like Brisbane and Perth," he said, adding, "We're now in week three, which is terrible for businesses and workers who are losing jobs and families.

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"This really has been a very serious blow to people in Sydney. We've just got to get on top of it."

Students in their final year of high school decried the impact of the extended lockdown on their studies, citing the "annoyance" and "lack of clarity" the looming limbo period has on their graduating class.

"I'm annoyed that there's no clarity around how this will impact HSC trials and the HSC - it feels like our mental health and wellbeing as students is being overlooked," one student tells 9Honey.

Premier Berejiklian clarified in a press conference today that students would be permitted to be on campus during their HSC trials, adding, "I know how difficult it is... but it's for four days."

The pandemic and lockdown periods have had a significant psychological impact on young people over the course of the year.

"It's really heartbreaking how much isolation gets to people."

A survey conducted by mental health service Headspace recorded 74 per cent of teenagers reported a decline in their psychological wellbeing throughout 2020.

The impact spanned their sleeping patterns, ability to maintain relationships and capacity to study, with three-quarters of respondents citing a damaging impact on their mood, and 59 per cent noting a negative impact on their sleep.

The increased isolation has also influenced teenagers' relationships, with 70 per cent noting their friendships had suffered during lockdowns.

"From a psychological perspective, lockdown is crazy," a student tells 9Honey.

Revealing they've combatted "extreme stress" due to isolation, the student says they've struggled to find mental health support with "most psychologists being completely booked out because of an uptick in patients."

"More and more young teenagers are developing serious mental health problems, and it's really heartbreaking how much isolation gets to people," they explained.

"We've been left to ferment and swell in stress."

Another student shared they've become "easily depressed" and "touch-starved" due to the isolation.

"It shows how important human contact is and what happens without it," they shared.

Many students believed the NSW government's decision to "wait" for the lockdown period was intentional, and has subsequently thrown "a lot of important school events" - including graduation and school formals, "into question."

"It's regrettable that measures weren't taken earlier, namely as soon as they identified that the Delta variant was passing through the community," the student said.

"I believe that the government waited for the school holidays to initiate a lockdown rather than during the school term which was a major cause for the rise in cases.

"I guess the extension comes as no surprise, just sad about the things we're probably going to miss out on for the rest of the year

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.