The surprising thing many Aussie don’t do stressed or sad
Only 18 per cent of people seek support when feeling stressed or sad, according to a new survey commissioned by Mental Health Australia.
The research looked into the activities people undertook to improve their mental health against 10 key activities, including sleep, exercise, diet, involvement in the community and seeking advice or support.
"Generally, Australians are doing better than expected regarding their participation in activities that assist with improving mental health and wellbeing," Frank Quinlan, chief executive office of Mental Health Australia, said.
The survey founds positive results for certain activities that improve mental wellbeing.
- 65 per cent regularly keep consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs as low as possible.
- 58 per cent regularly make an effort to eat healthily
- 51 per cent regularly make time to socialise with family and/or friends
- 47 per cent regularly get a good night’s sleep.
However, the results also found that retired and rural respondents hardly ever sought help, with around half of this group saying they rarely sought support for mental health issues.
“People over 70 were more likely than any other age group to say they socialise, participate in the community, eat and sleep well, and limit their consumption of alcohol and other drugs,” said Mr Quinlan, adding, “While the group scored high in all these areas, if they did become stressed or depressed, 49 per cent said they rarely or would never seek help for themselves.”
But what was most concerning for Mental Health Australia was that only a small percentage of people were willing to reach out and seek advice or support when they were feeling down or stressed out.
“With only 18 per cent regularly seeking help, we have a long way to go to make it ok to do something about our mental health and wellbeing,” Mr Quinlan said.
He is asking Australians to do more to look after their mental wellbeing.
“People can make a simple promise to do something to help improve their mental health and wellbeing and then share it, hopefully making it more acceptable to talk about mental health and seek help when they need it,” stated Mr Quinlan
Related links:
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