“Around one in five Australians will experience a mental illness.”
It’s an alarming statistic and sadly, many people battle their condition alone, in silence. It’s also common for people not to discuss how they’re feeling with family or friends for fear of being stigmatised, or having their symptoms of depression and anxiety put down to stages in life such as stressful events, hormones or personality traits and subsequently left untreated.
“Three million Australians are living with anxiety or depression.”
A mental illness is a health problem that significantly affects how a person feels, thinks, behaves, and interacts with other people. Mental illnesses cause a great deal of suffering to those who experience them as well as their families and friends, and these problems seem to be on the rise. The World Health Organization predicted that “depression will be one of the biggest health problems worldwide by the year 2020”.
And given how challenging 2020 turned out to be, their prediction appears to be correct. COVID-19 has affected everyone. Constant lockdowns, bereavement, loss of income and fear has triggered mental health conditions or exacerbated existing ones, while many people have faced increasing levels of alcohol and drug use, insomnia, and anxiety.
“Beyond Blue should be the first place every person in Australia turns to when they have a mental health issue.”
Beyond Blue, Australia’s most well-known and most visited mental health organisation, has been supporting Australians for over 20 years, and have been innovative and agile in their response to the community’s needs during 2020. Through their Beyond 2020 Strategy, they are working across three strategic priorities aimed at promoting mental health and wellbeing, being a trusted source of information, advice and support as well as working together with the community to prevent suicide.
Cognisant of the impact that anxiety and depression has on our community, and wanting to help make a difference, the staff at Hoyle Da Silva are proud to support Beyond Blue in their goal to raise awareness, reduce stigma and support Australians to achieve their best possible mental health.
Need help? Contact Beyond Blue for immediate support via online chat, email, community-led forums or by calling 1300 22 4636.
Questions? Contact Mark Da Silva, Principal Lawyer
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