State of Mental Health in Australia

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STATE OF MENTAL HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA
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STATE OF MENTAL HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA
INTRODUCTION
Mental illness is a serious health concern in the society today. According to research,
more than 20% of Adults in Australia are affected by mental disorders. However, the
understanding as well as the respect we have concerning mental health is key to prevent the
stigma that associated with mental illnesses (Christensen, Griffiths, & Evans, 2002, p.99).
Mental health can be defined as the sense of well-being, confidence and finally self-esteem that
makes anyone to totally enjoy life as well as appreciating other individuals (Milner, Smith, &
LaMontagne, 2015, p.678). Mental illness on the other hand is health issue that negatively alters
the way someone thinks, feels, and behaves as well as interacting with different people. Mental
illness is however not a particular disease since it exhibits itself in a variety of ways in relation to
an individual’s environment, psychological as well as biological factors.
In Australia, mental disorders is the most significant issue especially among the youths
and if these conditions persist, the harm they cause lasts for decades. The issues that contribute to
mental health in Australia include elevated levels of enduring disability like failure at schools,
high unemployment rates as well as poor family and social functioning (Hafekost et al., 2016,
p.59). The end results are dysfunctions which are hard to reverse or correct. Since 75% of the
mental illness in Australia begin before 25 years old, it would be necessary to cut on the
economic, attitudinal as well as service organization and geographical barriers to the youths as
well as young adults so as to address the mental health problem.
The rates of mental illness in Australia are high in the young people and this represents
the biggest burden of the disease in young people. It is widely believed that depression is the

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leading cause of the condition. According to studies, it is clear that suicide as well as self-harm
has risen significantly in Australia since 1990s and this are attributed to the mental disorders
(Jones et al., 2015, p. 25). Further studies indicate that 60% of all the disability costs that are
health related are as a result of mental illness. A further 27% of the disability years in Australia
are as well attributed to mental illness (Davidson, Heffernan, Greenberg, Waterworth, &
Burgess, 2017, p. 888). Even though majority of the mental illnesses begin prior to 18 years,
individuals between the ages of 25-44 and 45-64 years are more likely to get active treatment as
compared to those who are below 25 years in Australia when seen in the general practice.
Some research have shown that some of the mental disorders can be effectively prevented
through earlier intervention measures and that their effects can be well countered by providing
early appropriate services (De Crespigny et al., 2015, p. 126). Despite many clinicians in
Australia being enthusiastic to reform this condition, their efforts have remained futile as
compared to other countries who even began after emulating Australia (Uribe Guajardo et al.,
2018, p. 12). Besides, the specialist mental health system in Australia is totally underfunded and
this has totally plagued the efforts to repair the damage. According to statistics, the national
health spending has grown past the $72 billion while the recurrent expenditure on mental health
spending still remains below 7% of the $72 billion. Despite the Australian governments
recognizing the coordinated national health as well as welfare services for the people with mental
issues, the investments still remains low as well as lack of accountability. The disintegrated
systems of the government as well as the changing demands of the healthcare have led to a
patchy group of reforms in terms of mental health in Australia.