16,000 Australians took a quiz on Mental Health Literacy...what did we find out?
The good news is that we have come a long way in understanding Depression. This is wonderful news and the awareness raising work of Beyond Blue was accredited with some of this improvement.
However there are still serious misunderstanding of anxiety. Anxiety is the most common mental illness in Australia with 16.2% of the population in any one year experiencing anxiety.
The quiz shows that only 41% of respondents knew the best practice treatment of anxiety is to face the things that are provoking the anxiety. Unfortunately this means that the majority of people with anxiety are getting the wrong support from their friends and family members.
There was also poor understanding of psychosis and how to support a person experiencing a psychotic episode.
Mental Health First Aid was mentioned:
'In just a few hours people can learn enough to help them recognise a problem in others and steer the person in the right direction to get help, Dr Reavley said.'
Australians have come a long way in their understanding and help giving in mental illness situations. There is still more work to be done.
If you want to be able to support a person experiencing a mental illness or in a mental health crisis please have a look at our courses.
Remember Mental Health is everyone's business.
