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About Mental Illness
Mental illness can develop at any stage of a person’s life. Serious mental illness includes but is not limited to: depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders. Each of these conditions affects the person’s thoughts and feelings in ways that at times makes it impossible for them to function as they normally would.
People may have difficulties with: memory; self-care; organising their thoughts; interacting and talking to others; and feeling appropriate levels of emotion. Lack of motivation is also a common and frequently misunderstood aspect of mental illness. Complicating this picture, the medication necessary to treat mental illness can have unwanted side-effects including sedation, sleeplessness, hyper salivation, sensitivity to sunlight and physical restlessness. (The newer atypical medications have fewer of these side-effects.) This manifests itself in behaviours that most of us find difficult to understand.
The good news is that the vast majority of people with a mental illness will completely or partially recover. Their symptoms are treatable and the person can still enjoy a high quality of life.
What is the chance of you experiencing a mental illness in your lifetime?
It is generally accepted that almost one in five Australians will experience a mental illness at some time in their life. Less than half of those affected by mental illness actually seek treatment.
What is the chance of you experiencing a mental illness today?
Approximately 3% of the adult population are affected by what the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists term a ‘severe mental disorder’ (that is schizophrenia, bipolar and severe forms of depression, panic disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder).
Mental illness is more common than many disabilities. Approximately 1% of the Australian population between 20 and 64 years have a psychiatric disability (i.e., severe and persistent effects of mental illness). In 1993 this equated to 146,000 people and compared with 73,100 with an intellectual disability (eg. Downs Syndrome) and 93,600 with acquired brain injury (eg. resulting from car accident, alcohol abuse)
More information is available on the various mental illnesses if you are interested in learning about these. Please see staff.
Prevalence of Mental Illness (Chart courtesy of SANE Australia)
How does this compare with the chance of you experiencing another disability?
Mental illness is more common than many disabilities. Approximately 1% of the Australian population between 20 and 64 years have a psychiatric disability (ie, severe and persistent effects of mental illness). In 1993 this equated to 146,000 people and compared with 73,100 with an intellectual disability (eg. Downs Syndrome) and 93,600 with acquired brain injury (eg. resulting from car accident, alcohol abuse) (ABS 1993).
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