What do I do Now?
So, you have (or someone you care about has) found out you have a mental health difficulty - now what??
About Mental Illness | The First Steps
About Mental Illness
Mental health challenges are becoming more and more frequent. In Australia, the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that an estimated 3.2 million Australians (20% of the population aged between 16 and 85) had a mental illness in the twelve months prior to the survey. Additionally, the Burden of Disease and Injury in Australia study indicated that mental illnesses constitute the leading cause of disability burden in Australia, accounting for an estimated 24% of the total years lost due to disability. More information about the occurrence of mental illness can be found on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website http://www.aihw.gov.au/mentalhealth/index.cfm or the Sane website http://www.sane.org.
Mental illness can vary in intensity, type and nature. They can include:
- Depression
- Adjustment disorder
- Panic attacks
- Agoraphobia
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Bi-polar disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Personality Disorders
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
back to top
The First Steps
The most important thing you (or the person you care about) can do is to get informed. Learn about the illness, about it's symptoms and about its effects. Learn about the options you can access for support and how they will affect you. The best way to get informed is to start looking at relevant websites, for example:
Australian Psychological Society
Depression Services
http://www.depressionservices.org.au
Beyondblue
Australian Government Mental Health and Wellbeing website
Mental Illness Fellowship of Queensland
http://www.sfq.org.au/index.htm
Mental Health Council of Australia
Sane Australia
The mental health legal framework in Queensland (a document by the Mental Illness Fellowship of Queensland) [pdf]
The Mental Health Legal Centre
http://www.communitylaw.org.au
The next most important thing for you (or the person you care about) to do is to get a regular GP. Your GP can monitor your mental health and help you to access further support if and when needed. Finding the right GP is not always easy and some are more interested and skilled in mental health problems than others. You may need to shop around to find one that you can work with. A list of Sunshine Coast General Practices (pdf) as well as other Sunshine Coast Mental Health Services, is available on the Sunshine Coast Division of General Practice website (www.scdgp.org.au).
Finally, it is important that you (or the person you care about) see your mental health difficulty as something you can manage once you have the right information and the right support. Look at the Recovery page of this website for more information on how to manage your mental health on an ongoing basis.