The Australian National Mental Health

Health risk increased with unemployment. There is evident that the health risk is higher in areas where unemployment is common. Stable and secure work improves to individual’s job satisfaction, well-being and health. Deteriorate illness and premature death caused by higher unemployment (Wilkinson & Marmot 2003). A number of research form many foreign countries shows individuals and their families face comparatively high risk of premature death (Wilkinson & Marmot 2003). Australia indigenous peoples accounted for 2.4% of the Australian population, the impact of factors such as unemployment, imprisonment, low-income, eligible housing, lead them to life expectancy 9-12 years less than other Australian population(Cunningham & Paradies 2013).

Mental illness disorders and suicide as surveys and statistics would show, affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at a higher rate than the rest of the Australian population (Elder, Evans, Nizette, 2013). Thirty percent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population aged 18 years and over experienced some sort psychological distress at a greater than normal level during the year 2012 to 2013 (ABS, 2015). Compared to other Australians, the Indigenous people aged 18 years and over were three times more prone to experiencing psychological distress than the rest of the Australian population (ABS, 2015). Mental health services treat more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in contrast with the Non-Aboriginal population, around

It is important that the strategy has to draw on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, understanding what they need and provide the most effective way to reduce the mental illness and suicide prevention (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2009). According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfares, “Closing the gap” is a continuing national program which to help closing the gap of mental health of ATSI people. In the area of improving the mental health of Indigenous people, one strategy under the program is the National Action Plan on Mental Health 2006-2011. This plan elaborates that health practitioners who working in Indigenous community are being trained to identify and address mental illness, as well as other associated issues among indigenous people and make referrals for their treatment. In addition, the national plan also highlights that develop the capacity of health practitioner, local community and community organisation, provide better professional support and resources to enable Indigenous people to improve their mental health and develop cultural awareness and suicide prevention training for local health practitioner in mainstream

“Everyone has an important role to play in achieving healthcare rights and contributing to safe, high quality care. Genuine partnerships between those families and carers of people receiving care and those providing it lead to the best possible outcomes.” (Western NSW Local Health District 2012).

Mental health is a complex phenomenon that consists of a range of diagnoses, treatments and outcomes. Recovery from such experiences has historically meant to completely remove all symptoms of illness, but is now currently thought of as regaining a sense of control over and development of a new meaning and purpose in one’s life, rather than feeling defined by the illness. Each individual understands it in their own personal way, likened to a journey towards self-determination, choice, and empowerment.

Depression is “a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendancies”. (Merriam-Webster, unknown). It is important to understand the effects of depression amongst young people, as it is a large problem in Australia. Depression effects on in sixteen Australians aged 16-24 (BeyondBlue, unknown), and the largest killer of the Australian youth is suicide (BeyondBlue, unknown). Depression can be broken down into smaller sections, and they are; the way it effects young people, the prevalence of depression, the consequences it brings upon

Stigma is a destructive shadow which follows mental health, inevitably impacting on the process of recovery. In Australia, statistics show that one in five individuals experience mental illness, of those 74% (SANE Australia,2013) reported being affected by stigma. With such statistics, it is crucial to understand the recovery process in mental health and the extent to which stigma influences on this process.

The social construction of mental illness limit an individual’s life opportunities as they are labelled “psychotic stalkers, comic figures, neurotics who do everything to excess, or sometimes as sympathetic characters” (DeVoe 2003-2004, p. 926) rarely are they viewed as competent members of society as illustrated by Howard Geld experience, “many years ago, I was diagnosed manic depressive psychotic and ever since then I have tried to live up to it.” (Howard Geld cited in DeVoe 2003-2004, p. 925). However events such as NSW Mental Health Month (October) which emphasises the promotion of social and emotional wellbeing by encouraging people to maximise their health and increase their mental health literacy provides a great opportunity for reducing the fear associated with this group by raising awareness of mental illness which over time serves also to eliminate the stigma associated with

“Statistics suggest that, with one in 5 adults, and 27 per cent of young Australians, suffering some form of mental illness, current mental health funding is unable to cater for all mental health needs, forcing prisons to become the new mental health institutions.”

Mental illness is one of the top leading causes of disability accountability in Australia (ABS, 2007). The Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007 reported that approximately 1 in every 5 Australian is affected each year and about 3% of the population of Australia is afflicted by psychotic disorder; essentially schizophrenia, where the person displays distorted sense of reality (ABS, 2007). The prevalence estimate of schizophrenia is 1.1% of the population ranging from 18 years old and above that is, as many as 51 million of the population worldwide suffer from this illness (NIMH, 2014). The etiology of schizophrenia has still a long way to go although perspectives have changed considering the number of factors as the cause of this illness such as psychodynamic and or hereditary (Swapnil & Parmanand, 2010). Schizophrenia is a mental

The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI, 2015) estimates 1 in 5- 48.8- million adults in the United States are diagnosed with a mental illness each year. Amongst adolescents and children, it is estimated 1 in 5 youth ages 13-18-(21.4%) have, or will have a serious mental illness every year (NAMI, 2015). For children ages 8-15 the prevalence of experiencing a serious mental illness at one point in their life is 13% (NAMI, 2015). Although, children and adolescents are most commonly diagnosed with mood, conduct and anxiety disorders, there are those who occasionally experience psychotic disorders such as early onset schizophrenia.

The 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing Results revealed that at some stage in their lives, up to 45% of Australians will experience a mental illness, with 20% of the Australians surveyed in the 16-85 age group having experienced a mental illness within the 12 months preceding the survey

The current government care model has been one of decentralized care, which means the onus falls on community and private organisations. This community based care model is purported to be in the best interest of those with mental disorders and has led to more government funding and proposed health care initiatives such as the recently proposed NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) which has been proposed to be fully operational by 2019 (Ndis.gov.au, 2015). The community based care model has historically been underfunded (Response by the National Mental Health Commission, 2012) but has led to a number of awareness campaigns by community organisations to increase public awareness and understanding of mental

The Australian Government created an innovating National Youth Mental Health Foundation is known as, Headspace. Headspace provides early support, care and services for a range of mental health challenges young people commonly face. Headspace aim to target any problems young people may face in order to adverse effects. They provide services that span over physical health, drug and alcohol support and vocational counsel. They aim to empower young people to seek assistance, support, advice or simply someone to talk about mental health issues. Anyone who walks into a headspace centre should feel treated with respect and compassion, within a confidential and safe environment.

If we reach that far back in psychiatric history it would appear as though mainstream psychiatry has actually come a long way. To gain insight in to all disciplines of study it’s critical to venture back in time to get a glimpse of its history. It’s necessary to study the roots in an effort to accurately extrapolate where things have been, where things are, and where the vision is directed for the future. Advancements in health care have unfolded through trial and error. These progressive improvements in patient care are profoundly swayed by public attitudes and medical theories. Since we have had such difficulty in finding our way out of the stigma mental illness maintains on today’s society, it is not surprising that psychiatry continues to lag behind other fields of medicine in terms of advancements.