The bad news:
- 20% of Australians (1 in 5) suffered a mental health condition in 2017-2018 and this only includes those we know about. Remember, most people do not disclose that they have a mental health condition
- The most common mental health conditions are depression or anxiety – this is reflected in my practice
- Statistics drawn from 2013-2014 showed that 14% of young people aged between 4 and 17 experienced a mental health episode during that span of time. This percentage has since climbed.
- In 2017, 3128 Australians died by suicide
- Neurodegenerative diseases are on the rise – more than 50% or residents in residential aged care facilities have dementia (www.healthdirect.gov.au). In 2016 dementia became the leading cause of death in Australian women. Scary stuff.
- Mental health and substance abuse disorders are the third highest burden of disease in Australia
Some good ideas:
- Create and maintain healthy, supportive relationships. Ideas could include: call on family members and relatives, join a meet-up group, start a hobby that offers the opportunity to meet others, resuscitate friends from school or a previous job, volunteer…
- Increase physical activity and exercise. Ideas could include joining park-run or a local council-run walking group, sack your gardener and/or cleaner and burn up the calories yourself, get off the bus a stop earlier, exercise for free by following a YouTube exercise clip and the list goes on
- Practice gratitude. Write down three things you are grateful for every night before you sleep. Focus on the positives; not the negatives.
- If you don’t sleep well google some ideas to optimise sleep. Sleep is crucial for optimizing mental health
- Learn a mindfulness or meditation strategy
- Eat well (see our blog on the plant-based diet)
- Avoid alcohol and other depressogens
- Practice self-compassion and avoid comparing yourself to others. People tend to be too hard on themselves.
- Google some more ideas or consult a psychologist.
Dr Anita Cochrane (PhD)
Clinical Psychologist
Accredited Practising Dietitian