Face of Nation : More Australians than ever before are seeking treatment for a mental health condition. But while the country has come a long way, advocacy groups are warning there is still a long way to go to break down the stigma around asking for help – particularly in some culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.
Melbourne man Vasan Srinivasan says he understands the concerns. He grew up in a small, remote village in India about 350 kilometres from Chennai. “I have seen enough in my younger days that people were suffering at the time, now I can relate to why they were suffering,” he tells.
“I’ve seen aunties in my family with anti-natal depression, which I didn’t understand at the time. We actually isolated them, we locked them up, we didn’t understand what they were going through. “That really hurts me.”
For the past 26 years, Mr Srinivasan has been dedicating his life to understanding mental health and trying to make a change, so people don’t suffer as his aunties did. He is now vice-chairperson of Mental Health Foundation Australia, which has more than 300 members in its Multicultural Ambassador Programme.
“In particular communities, whether it’s communities that are culturally and linguistically diverse, whether it’s communities that have diverse sexualities and genders, whether it’s communities that are in diverse locations, workplaces and so forth, the discussion of mental health issues often has to be different in each of those communities because the experience of mental health issues and challenges is different in each of those communities,” he said.
World Mental Health Day is marked each year on 10 October, and Mental Health Foundation Australia is also marking Mental Health Month. Mr Srinivasan is hosting seminars, marches and forums across Victoria during October, to get people talking.
Mr Quinlan says how we talk about mental health has come a long way since he was a child, but there’s still a long way to go to break the stigma. Three million Australians are living with depression or anxiety, which is the most common mental health condition, affecting one in four people.
“A recent study found GPs say that mental health consultations are their most common consultation now, more common than the common cold, chest infections, back pain,” Dr Blashki said. “I think that the community discussion has really been evolving.
“People are much more comfortable to talk about mental health, even the 25 years that I’ve been a GP I’ve seen quite a change where people will come in quite comfortably and say ‘I think I’m having anxiety issues’ ‘or I think I’m having a depression issue.”
