health and safety mental health
At a glance
▸▸ 3 million Australians are living with
anxiety or depression
▸▸ 45% of Australians will experience a
mental health condition in their lifetime
out assistance early on.
“You don’t have to wait until things are
really bad. We prefer people to contact our
service, or any other mental health service
that they’d prefer early in the piece, because
we know if problems are nipped in the
bud, there’s a quicker recovery. Whereas,
if things drag on, people can become quite
unwell and it can take just that little bit
longer to turn things around and recover.
“It’s never too early to contact a service
▸▸ Mental health and suicide rates tend to
be higher in regional areas
A brighter light shone
on mental health
Mental health is often overlooked, but addressing symptoms of depression and anxiety early on can
be extremely beneficial. Jessica Strauss looks what mental health issues are prevalent and what to
do if you find yourself dealing with overwhelming stress, anxiety or depression.
B
eyondblue’s policy, research and
evaluation leader Dr Stephen
Carbone said two of the most
critical signs of depression
were persistent low mood, generally for
more than two weeks. The other common
symptom was a feeling of loss of interest or
pleasure in life.
“There’s a range of other symptoms too.
Often people can have physical changes.
They may experience trouble with their
sleep, either getting to sleep or waking up
earlier than they want to. They might lose
their appetite and as a consequence they
might lose weight,” Carbone said.
“Mentally or psychologically they
often start to develop very negative and
pessimistic thinking. They might be quite
self-critical. They may think they’re a
failure and think that everything they do
doesn’t work. They may look at their life
and think ‘I haven’t achieved what I wanted
to’. They’re tending to be always picking
holes in things and finding the faults. When
they look at their future they think things
are bleak and are never going to change.”
Most people would have a variety of
those physical and psychological symptoms,
accompanied by that persistent low mood
and loss of pleasure, Carbone said.
anxiety and DEPRESSION
go hand in hand
While depression is arguably the most
well-known when it comes to mental health
issues, there is a range of other mental
health problems which people might be less
familiar with.
Carbone said there was a range of anxiety
conditions such as phobias, panic disorders,
generalised anxiety where the main feature
of the condition would be a tension, anxiety
or nervousness.
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Farming Ahead July 2015 No. 282
“Quite commonly, anxiety and depression
can go hand in hand and the two often occur
together. Those who experience depression
often also experience anxiety and vice
versa,” he said.
“So anxiety and depression are both quite
common and then you’ve got a range of
others, such as alcohol and drug problems
which are considered as mental health
conditions. There are also conditions like as
psychotic schizophrenia, eating disorders
and several more.
Studies on RURAL versus
metro differ
The studies vary on the status of mental
health in rural areas, compared to
metropolitan ones, according to Carbone.
“There have been surveys looking at what
we call psychological distress, which includes
symptoms of stress and strain. There are
examples of where we’ve seen psychological
distress levels being higher in people living in
rural and remote communities, compared to
metropolitan areas.
“Some studies have also shown rates
of depression and anxiety is a bit higher.
Certainly these conditions are common
across the whole country, but they do seem
to be of somewhat higher prevalence in
rural and remote areas. Certainly we know
suicide rates are higher in rural and remote
areas, compared to the metro areas.”
SEEKING OUT ASSITANCE
Social isolation can be one of the risk factors
for developing depression and anxiety.
With many people living in rural areas often
not in close proximity to other people in their
community, it is really important to be involved
in social occasions, according to Carbone.
Having a social and support network is
really important for everyone to have.
“Sometimes just staying in touch with
others is one of the things which buffers you
and helps to protect you against those hard
times, depression and anxiety.”
TREATMENT
Carbone said nowadays we have the benefit
of a lot of services being out our disposal,
either as telephone services or through online.
“There’s a variety of telephone help lines,
referral lines and advice lines, including
the beyondblue support service. People
can ring our number and talk to a trained
mental health professional and discuss their
situation and get some advice,” he said.
“There are also a lot of online programs.
So people can look at these models which
have been researched and proven to help
learn the strategies to overcome depression
and anxiety. Some of those combine
telephone counselling with online. So
you’ve got a therapist over the phone and a
module you do online.
“Some people like that, but some people
prefer face-to-face consultations with a
therapist or counsellor. A good place to start
is your local GP and either the GP can help
you themselves, or than can refer you onto
social works, psychologists, or other people
who can provide the sort of counselling
therapies which are good for anxiety and
depression. “
SQUASHING THE STIGMA
While attitudes toward depression and
anxiety have improved in leaps and bounds
in recent years, there is still stigma attached
to these disorders, which may prevent
people seeking out help when they really
need it or would benefit from it.
An important point is you do not have to
wait until you have a crisis to seek out help,
with it often being more beneficial to seek
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stress management techniques we can
employ when necessary. People can learn
these techniques and skills through books
and online, without having to go and see a
trained professional. Those sorts of things
build your resilience and can help protect
you against depression and anxiety,”
Carbone said.
“People of the land can sometimes feel
like they’re alone, but we want them to
be assured that help is only a phone call
see funds directed through our Community
Investment Program and almost half of the
growers surveyed saw mental health as the
highest priority for our support.”
Crane said the CBH Black Dog Mental
Wellness Program built on the existing
work already in place by a variety of
organisations that offered resources to
regional people and reduced the stigma of
mental illness.
“The program will support the delivery
“It’s never too early to contact a service for help in a sense. If you’re not sure and you want to
just test the waters, just give beyondblue a call. We’d like to encourage people to learn about
their condition, help and manage themselves. What we see, is some people feel as though
they’re embarrassed, ashamed or may feel they don’t qualify for help as they don’t believe
they’re sick enough. We want to quash that and say that it’s always ok to seek assistance.
Come whenever you want to, is the message.”
– Dr Stephen Carbone
for help in a sense. If you’re not sure and
you want to just test the waters, just give
beyondblue a call. We’d like to encourage
people to learn about their condition,
help and manage themselves. What we
see, is some people feel as though they’re
embarrassed, ashamed or may feel they
don’t qualify for help as they don’t believe
they’re sick enough. We want to quash
that and say that it’s always okay to seek
assistance. Come whenever you want to, is
the message.”
how lifestyle can help
divert the issues
There are protective factors which reduce
the chance that someone would develop
depression or an anxiety condition,
according to Carbone.
“Some of those factors are practical
lifestyle choices like healthy eating, regular
physical activity and good sleep patterns.
Having pleasurable and enjoyable things in
your life, as well as taking the time to relax
and unwind are all important.”
Carbone could not stress enough, the
importance of having people around you,
saying one of the biggest protective factors
is a good support network of people who
you can turn to in times of difficulty, or just
to have a laugh and socialise.
Being a part of a club or association,
or just being involved in your community
all can help build and sustain those social
networks.
“There are some personal skills which
can help too. We can all benefit from
learning how to solve problems effectively,
communicate well with others and have
www.farmingahead.com.au
away and whilst it can be difficult travelwise, there are people who can help you
work around these things if you need some
extra help to get through a difficulty you’re
experiencing.”
CBH SUPPORTS black
dog institute TARGETING
GROWERS in wa
Mental health continues to get a brighter
light shone upon it, with corporations and
communities stepping up their game when it
comes to addressing it in their communities
and workplaces.
The Black Dog Institute recently
announced a partnership with Western
Australian-based grain cooperative CBH
Group to provide additional mental health
services to grain growing communities.
Recent statistics show Australian men
in regional areas are up to 2.5 times more
likely to die by suicide than their urban
counterparts.
Women and young people living
regionally are also significantly affected by
mental illness.
CBH Group CEO Dr Andy Crane said
this partnership was a great opportunity to
offer resources to regional communities
dealing with mental health issues.
“CBH has a strong focus on safety,
sustainability, health and wellness,” Crane
said.
“The aim of this program is to provide
grain growing communities with greater
access to services that help address this very
important and serious issue.
“We surveyed growers at the beginning
of 2014 about where they would like to
of workshops for communities, health
professionals, farm businesses and high
school students,” he said.
According to Black Dog Institute director
Professor Helen Christensen, the education
and awareness programs had been designed
to ensure a maximum benefit for the
communities involved with a focus on three
key areas.
“The first target group are community
GP’s and health professionals, they are often
the first port of call for people experiencing
mental health issues,” she said.
“We will be providing this group with
evidence-based training to ensure they
are armed with the best possible tools
for diagnosis, treatment and ongoing
management. We will be engaging with 120
farm businesses to improve mental health
literacy and encourage conversation.
“Finally, we often say that prevention is
the best cure [and] with this in mind, we
will also be empowering around 9000 high
school students across the Wheatbelt to
recognise the signs and symptoms of poor
mental health in themselves and others.”
The program has been funded by the
CBH Group and will be delivered by Black
Dog Institute clinicians and volunteers in
partnership with local presenters.
Contact
Beyondblue
www.beyondblue.org.au
Help line 1300 22 4636
Lifeline
www.lifeline.org.au
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