Take a day to find out about mental health

Monday 10 October is World Mental Health Day. It coincides with World Mental Health Week which runs from 9 –15 October.

Why not take some time during World Mental Health Week to find out about mental illness and how it can affect you and people around you. Nearly one in three Australians will experience a mental illness at some stage in their lives, so it’s important to be aware and know your options for managing mental health.

Mental illness can:

• have a high human cost on the people with the condition, as well as their family and friends
• take various forms and affects different people in many different ways
• occur at any point in someone’s life but is more common during the teenage years and after age 50.

Hearing about other peoples’ experiences is one way that you can learn about mental illness and its effects, as well as strategies for managing mental health conditions.

Youth mental health organisation, headspace, have launched videos by young people who have lived with mental illness. You can watch the Create a Better Story videos on the headspace website and see how these people have been affected by mental illness and managed this as part of their lives.

Information to support you or someone you know with mental illness can be found on the following websites:

• Department of Human Services – Living with illness or disability
• Department of Health and Ageing  Mental Health and Wellbeing website
• headspace website