Take advantage of Mental Health Week

Edited by Jill Wright, 26 September 2014

It's great to see the ABC going "Mental As", throwing its support behind Mental Health Week, which this year will run from October 5-11.

There will be hundreds of events during the week, and Psychology Melbourne will be playing its part too, with some free classes in mindfulness for individuals and organisations and a mental health tune-up to help keep your brain in good shape. More details will be available here soon.

The ABC's Health and Wellbeing site has already provided some helpful information, with features like "What is Good Mental Health?" and an examination of the use of anti-depressants in Australia and there will be many more television, radio and online events which will draw attention to our troubling mental health statistics:

• Almost half the total population (45.5%) experience a mental health disorder at some point in their lifetime.
• At least one third of young people have had an episode of mental illness by the age of 25 years.
• Depression and anxiety are the most prevalent mental disorders experienced by Australians. On average, one in five people will experience depression in their lives.
• There are more deaths by suicide than motor vehicle accidents (2,273 versus 1,543 in 2011)
• In 2011, suicide accounted for more than a quarter (27.8%) of all deaths amongst young men aged 15 to 24.

With this sort of exposure, it seems pretty clear that this year's program will be the most successful yet in alerting Australians to the issues. Hopefully it will help remove the stigma that too often stands in the way of people seeking help.