Oh the Stigma

Look around the room... current statistics say 1 in 6 women in Australia and 1 in 16 men have been subject to intimate partner violence. How do we begin to count those who have not.

Look around the room again…  current statistics say 1 in 6 Australians ages 16-85 experience a mental illness in any given year.

Take one last look around… In 2019, suicide was the leading cause of death among people aged between 15-49 years. Did you know that also in 2019 an average of nearly 7 men died by suicide every day across Australia?

Shocked?

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So why are we so afraid of speaking out?

And when we do why do we place such negative connotations on being the victims of violence or of experiencing mental illness?

Why don’t we see mental health as being just as important as our physical health?

What we do know Is when we stigmatise, we bring misplaced shame and guilt. We internalise symptoms which makes our health and functioning deteriorate. We stop people from accessing help.

The good news is, statistics also show that support seeking appears to be growing at a rapid rate. let’s keep the momentum!

Talk more, ask more questions, educate yourself, dispel myths, support that friend or loved one and most importantly, reach out for support and help.  

Note: recent research suggests that the majority of mental health research does not adequately include immigrant and refugee samples and more research is required to make conclusions about prevalence of mental health conditions in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities

 Author: Kate Zughbi, Principal Therapist

RenewMe Therapy

ABS National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2020). Causes of Death, Australia, 2019