Mental Health - A Challenge in Australia

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Mental Health
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Mental Health
Mental health is a very big challenge in Australia particularly depression and suicide. As
far as depression is concerned, approximately one million people from Australia currently suffer
from depression. 10,000 young people from Australia live with depression every year. Out of all
the new mothers in Australia, fourteen percent of them are affected by postnatal depression.
According to statistics, depression affects one in every seven people at some point in their lives
in Australia. Furthermore, it is projected that in twenty years, apart from heart disease,
depression will be one of the prominent causes of death and disability in Australia (Australian
Bureau of Statistics, 2016).
As far as suicide is suicide in Australia is concerned, there is a reason to worry.
According to the Australian Bureau of statistics, there were 2687 deaths recorded between the
year 2011 and 2015 which are as a result of suicide in Australia. According to preliminary data
in 2015, there is an average of 8.3 deaths by suicide every single day. Suicide is approximately
three times higher for males than it is for females. In 2015, 2.8 percent of all female deaths were
attributed to suicide while on 0.9 percent of all female deaths are accredited to suicide
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016).
In Australia, the Aboriginal cultural group is at risk of depression compared to the
general population in Australia. The history of the aboriginal people is marred with grief, trauma
as well as the loss which are perfect ingredients for depression. There are widespread grief and
trauma among the aboriginal people which be traced back in history to the time when most of
them were killed and their land was taken away from them (Clancy, 2014). Secondly, they also
face a lot of discrimination based on their culture in Australia and this takes at all on them

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psychologically since they are made to feel inferior and insignificant compared to other
populations in Australia. This lowers their self-esteem and consequently leads to depression
(Flood, 2006). Thirdly, they suffer from physical health problems. This is attributed to poverty
which makes it virtually impossible for them to access healthcare since they cannot afford to pay
for it. Fourthly substance abuse is also a crucial risk factor. Many aboriginal people start
misusing drugs at a very young age due to desperateness and hopelessness. Fifthly, violence is a
very big problem among Aboriginal people especially women. According to statistics, one in
every five Aboriginal women experienced physical violence in the last one year. This is in
comparison to just seven percent of the non-indigenous women. This kind of atmosphere of
violence is likely to drive people into depression. Sixthly, Aboriginal people record the highest
number of incarcerations in Australia. Going by statistics, the national imprisonment rate for
Aboriginal adults is recorded to be fifteen times higher than that of non-indigenous adults. In
December 2013, Aboriginal people consisted of twenty-eight percent of Australia’s full-time
adult prison population. This is a huge number taking into consideration that the community is
not very large (Liberman, 2017). When family members such as the parent or the mother are
incarcerated, then the children are left under the care of their extended family and this burden
can lead to depression for both the children and the family especially considering the financial
hiccups they also face. Finally, depression can result from the impact of stolen generations and
removal of children. Roughly one in every twelve Aboriginal adults is part of the stolen
generation. 26,900 people confirmed that they were taken from their natural family. Many report
high levels of psychological distress when told assess their health. The psychological distress is a
risk factor for depression especially when no intervention is taken (Aitken & Adkins
Productions, 2015).

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Are far as suicides are concerned, young people who are between the ages of fifteen to
twenty-four are at risk. According to data from Australia, the suicide rate for young are at its
highest compared to numbers from the past ten years. Furthermore, one in every three deaths of
young people is credited to suicide. What is shocking is the fact that forty-one thousand young
people have made a suicide attempt at one point or the other. This clearly shows there is a
problem. There are several risk factors that make young people vulnerable to suicide. First,
living in remote areas is tough for young people or simply geographical isolation (Donald, 2016).
According to Australian Bureau of statistics, the suicide rate for people living in rural areas has
increased drastically. This number of suicide rates is three time that of the young people living in
cities in Australia. Young people living in rural areas feel disconnected from what they consider
as the real world. They feel hopeless and this psychological distress compels them to commit
suicide (Birleson, 2014). Second risk factor for young people is sexual orientation. Same sex
young people in Australia as six times likely to commit suicide in Australia compared to the
general population. There is a big number of young people who identify themselves as
homosexual or lesbians (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2013). Most of the times
they feel judged based on their sexual orientation and this drives them to commit suicide. Third,
cyber bullying and use of technology increase their risk significantly. Many young people in
Australia spend a large portion of their time online texting and chatting on several social media
platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook among others. This makes them more susceptible to
cyber-bullying who derive their confidence by making others feel bad about themselves. Once
rumors start spreading, it’s very difficult to stop or control hence the person ends up avoiding
other people because of share and this loneliness drives one to commit suicide (Wagner, 2016).
Furthermore, young people use the internet to obtain information on how to attempt suicide.