My story is nothing special but I know that it will help someone out there to get through depression or help someone understand a little more on what its like to live with such an illness.

Australian Statistics


Mental illness in the adult Australian population

  • About 45% of adult Australians will experience a mental illness at some stage in their lives, including alcohol or substance abuse disorders.

  • One in five Australians will experience a mental disorder in any 12-month period.

  • The proportion of Australians estimated to have a long-term mental or behavioural problem increase progressively between 1995 and 2005. This may reflect a real increase, an increasing in the self-report of mental disorders, or both.

  • Each year a further 20 000 Australians are found to have a mental illness.

  • In 2004-2005, mental illness was the leading cause of 'healthy life' lost due to disability (24% of all years lost or around 330, 000 years).

  • Many of those who experience mental health problems will experience more than one mental illness at the one time, such as depression and anxiety, which commonly occur together.

  • Three million Australians will experience a major depressive illness during their lifetime.

  • In 2004-2005, mental and behavioural problems were one of the most common reported long-term health conditions of socially and economically disadvantaged people.

  • People unemployed or not in the paid workforce had the highest rates of mental disorder, a prevalence rate of 26% for unemployed men and 34% for unemployed women, compared with prevalence rates of 15.1% for men and 14.7% for women in full-time paid employment.

  • 21% of males and 22.1% of females with weekly household incomes of less than $580 experienced mental health problems, compared to 8.9% of males and 9.1% of females living in households with a weekly income of more than $1030.

  • Anxiety disorders are most common, and affected 1 in 7 adults, followed by affective disorders 6.2% (of which depression is 4.1%), and substance use disorders - 5.1% (of which 6.5% is alcohol related).

  • 5% of Australians experience anxiety so crippling that it affects every aspect of their lives. Almost one in 100 Australians will experience schizophrenia during their lifetime.

  • 3 in 100 Australians will experience a psychotic illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and, increasingly, drug-induced psychosis.

  • Mental illness has the third highest burden of disease in Australia, followed closely by cancer and cardiovascular disease. Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, this figure is higher again, second only to cardiovascular disease.

  • Those with a mental disorder average three days out of role (i.e. not undertaking normal activity because of health problems) over a four week period. This compares with one day out of role for people with no physical or mental condition.

  • Mental health problems were the fourth most common reason for seeing a GP in 2004-2005. Almost 1 in 9 GP encounters involve a mental health-related problem - mostly depression, anxiety and sleep disorders.

  • From 2005-2006, 4.4% of all hospitalisations were for mental health-related principal diagnosis or specialised psychiatric care.

  • The average cancer, diabete, stroke or coronary heart disease patient will stay four times longer in hospital if they are also experiencing a mental illness.

  • The rate of deaths caused by mental or behavioural disorders has decreased substantially since 1990. Most cases of a mental or behavioural disorder as the underlying cause of death were due to abuse of psychoactive substances such as alcohol and heroin.

  • The overall rate of mental disorders in Australia and Canada is a little lower than that in the US. However, the pattern of mental disorders is consistent with Canada, the US and the UK, with anxiety disorders the most common disorders, followed by substance use disorders and depression.

  • In 2004-2005, 11% of all persons self-reported a current long-term mental or behavioural problem. Half had mood (affective) disorders and nearly 50% had anxiety related problems. Also, 13% of all adults reported experiencing high/very high levels of psychological distress in the last four weeks


Young people and mental illness

  • The greatest number of people with a mental illness are within the 18-24 year age group.

  • Many people with schizophrenia first experience symptoms in their mid to late teen years.

  • One third of people with a mental illness who are admitted to public hospitals are less than 30 years old.

  • Depression is one of the most common health conditions in young people and increases during adolescence.

  • Drug use can complicate diagnosis and exacerbate or trigger illness in vulnerable young people.


The mental health of young Australians

  • Young people are more likely to experience a mental illness and prevalence of mental disorders declines with age. In 2007, 26% of 16-24 year olds had experienced a mental disorder in the previous 12 months, while only 5.9% of 75 year olds and over had experienced a mental disorder during that time.

  • Data published in 2008 revealed that during a 12-month period, 7% of Australian children and adolescents aged 0-17 were experiencing mental health problems. This rate of mental health problems was similar across both gender groups.

  • In 2004-2005, one in 10 young Australians had a long-term mental health or behavioural problem.

  • In 2003, mental disorders were the leading contributor to the total burden of disease among young Australians, accounting for 49% of that total.

  • There is a higher prevalence of child and adolescent mental health problems among those living in low-income, step/blended and sole-parent families.

  • 25% of males and 19.7% of females living in step/blended families, and 22.2% of males and 26.7% of females living in sole-parent families experienced mental health problems, compared to 11.3% of males and 10.7% of females living with their original parents.

  • Only one out of every four young persons with mental health problems had received professional health care.

  • Family doctors, school-based counsellors and paediatricians provide the services that are most frequently used by young people with mental health problems. Younger children (4-12) were more likely to visit paediatricians and family doctors, while older children were more likely to visit school-based counselling services.

  • Even among young people with the most severe mental health problems, only 50% receive professional help. Parents reported that help was too expensive or they didn't know where to get it, and that they thought they could manage on their own.

  • Adolescents with mental health problems report a high rate of suicidal thoughts and other health-risk behaviour, including smoking, drinking and drug use.

  • 12% of 13-17 year olds reported having thought about suicide, while 4.2% had actually made a suicide attempt. Females had higher rates of suicide ideation than males.

  • In 2004-2005, there were 8,013 hospitalisations among young people for mental and behavioural disorders due to drug and alcohol use (almost 2% of all hospitalisations among young people).


Gender and mental illness

  • Men and women experience similar rates of mental illness, but rates are highest for men and women living alone. Similarly, rates of mental disorder are higher among people who are seperated (22%) or divorced (18%) than for adults who are married (9%).

  • Women are more likely than men to experience depression and anxiety disorders, while men are more likely to experience substance abuse.

  • Men are more than twice as likely as women to have a substance abuse disorder in any 12-month period (7.1% compared with 3.3%), with alcohol use disorders being more common than drug disorders.

  • Women are more likely to have anxiety and affective disorders in combination and men are more likely to have substance use disorders in combination with either affective or anxiety disorders.

  • Women are more likely than men to experience depression (5.1% compared to 3.1%) and anxiety disorders (18% compared to 11%), while men are more likely to experience substance abuse disorders (7.1% for men and 3.3% for women).

  • One in six recent mothers will experience a mild, moderate or severe form of post-natal depression18.

  • Though men and women are affected by schizophrenia in approximately equal numbers, women tend to experience later onset, fewer periods of illness, and better recovery.

  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder is equally common in males and females.

  • Up to 90% of eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa) occur in women.

  • Sexual disorders, especially exhibitionism and fetishism, are much more common in men.

  • Gender differences in different types of mental illness are influenced by cultural backgrounds.

Cannabis and mental illness

  • Cannabis has a range of effects on people’s mental health. There have been a number of studies that have explored the link between cannabis use and mental health symptoms.

  • Strong associations are often found but this is not the same as a direct causal link (i.e. one always causes the other).

Does smoking cannabis cause schizophrenia?

  • Cannabis may not cause schizophrenia, but rather, evidence has shown that it may trigger schizophrenia in those who are already at risk of developing the disorder.

  • In high doses or in doses that are higher than usual, cannabis can cause confusion, delusions or hallucinations, however this is rare and the symptoms usually go away if use of cannabis is stopped.

  • These short-term psychotic episodes can last from several hours, up to 2-3 days and are typically only seen in long-term, heavy cannabis users.

  • Cannabis has been shown to make psychotic symptoms worse in those who already have a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia and is also associated with relapse to episodes of mania among those with bipolar affective disorder.

  • Some people with mental illness report that they use cannabis to relieve their symptoms – however it typically worsens their condition overall.

Is cannabis linked to depression?

  • The link between cannabis use and depression is not clear cut, however people who do use cannabis are more likely than others to experience depression.

  • There is a substantial amount of evidence to suggest that cannabis use, particularly frequent or heavy use, predicts depression later in life with young women appearing to be more likely to experience this effect.

  • Adolescent cannabis use in particular has been linked to a range of psychological and social problems including an increased risk of depression and suicide.

Is cannabis linked to anxiety?

  • Anxiety and panic attacks are among the most common negative reactions to cannabis reported by users.

  • The link between cannabis use and anxiety is complex, as cannabis is often used to relieve anxiety.

  • There is no convincing evidence pointing to cannabis as an important risk factor for chronic, severe anxiety disorders.

    Visit the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre’s website for comprehensive, evidence-based information on cannabis and its effects, cannabis information and resources, fact sheets and much more at:     www.ncpic.org.au

    The Cannabis Information and Helpline provides a nationally available free call service for people using cannabis themselves or those concerned about the cannabis use of a friend or family member:
    1800 30 40 50.


 


Key research sources

The Australian Bureau of Statistics National Survey of Mental Health and Well-being (1997) provides the first national data on prevalence of mental illness in the adult population in Australia. This data is described and analysed in The Mental Health of Australians (1999). The child and adolescent component surveyed 4-17 year olds, and is reported in The Mental Health of Young People in Australia (2000).

These publications are available from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing publications page:

Other key sources of data on mental health and illness include:


Clearinghouses

Reports on Indigenous health and welfare, burden of disease and injury


Mental illness data


Independent Research Centres

Research on nature, origins and causes of mental illness, diagnosis and treatment

Research and policy on mental illness


N.B. Data obtained from the ABS National Survey of National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results (2008) unless otherwise specified. For more details on information sources, click here.

 

 

AND REMEMBER:

Talking to someone, one‐on‐one, directly about suicide will generally
not increase their suicide risk. However, media reporting of suicide deaths has been associated with
increased risk for those who are vulnerable to suicide........

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