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Mental health and mental illness

About 17% of Queenslanders experience mental illness in any given year.

What is good mental health?

The World Health Organisation describes good mental health as: 'a state of wellbeing in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution  to his or her community'.

What is mental illness?

A mental illness is a diagnosable illness that affects a person's thinking, emotional state and behaviours. It disrupts their ability to work, carry out daily activities and have satisfying personal relationships.

Mental illness is very common. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' 2007 national survey of mental health and wellbeing, 1 in 5 Australians aged 16 to 85 experiences a common mental illness in any year. Younger Australians—aged 16 to 24—experience mental illness at a rate of 1 in 4. About 50% of Australians will have their first experience of mental illness by age 18 and 75% by age 25. There are many types of mental illness. The most common are anxiety, depression and substance abuse disorders.

Just as all people are different, so too are the types of mental illness and their impact. Some people may require support for several months whereas others may need life-long support.

Often people experience mental illness for a long time before seeking help.

According to the Australian Budget: National Mental Health Reform: 'too many Australians with mental illness are still note seeking or receiving treatment-only around 46% compared to more than 80% for comparably disabling physical ailments'.

Types of mental illness—and signs

The Queensland Government's Healthier Queensland and the Australian Government's HealthInsite provide information and links about the following mental illnesses:

Queensland Health provides information about mental health in a range of multilingual brochures.

Change our minds presents explanations of different mental illnesses and myth-busts common misconceptions.

 

For urgent support

If you need urgent support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Salvo Care Line on 1300 36 36 22 where counsellors are available 24 hours a day. If someone's life is in immediate danger, phone the police or ambulance on 000.

Assistance for the deaf community

The National Auslan Interpreter Booking and Payment Service provides interpreters for people who use sign language and who would like an interpreter for private medical appointments.

Mental health and your legal rights

Do your legal rights change when you have a mental health issue? If so, when and how? Our page about legal information and your rights answers some commonly asked questions.

Licence
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0)
Last updated:
14 March 2013

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