The CEO of SANE Australia says new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics paints a sombre picture with Australians taking their lives at an increased rate.
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Among the concerning statistics released on Wednesday were figures revealing that for the first time more than 3000 Australians died from suicide in a year.
That year was 2015 and SANE’s CEO Jack Heath was not surprised.
”I knew the national statistics were coming out (on Wednesday) and I was desperately hoping they would not show the rate of suicides were going up,” he said.
Mr Heath said while unrelated research showed that living in a rural or regional area did not result in a higher risk of mental illness, less support on the ground was a barrier to treatment.
He said a lot of research showed people living with complex mental illness were 10 to 40 times more likely to commit suicide than those in the general population.
Living in the country could also present challenges.
“Lack of services, a culture of self reliance, stigma and often having limited access to a busy general practitioner are all major barriers for people battling complex mental illness in rural and regional Australia,” Mr Heath said.
Mr Heath grew up in Mooroopna and experienced the loss of his cousin to suicide. It spurred him to start working in the suicide prevention and mental health fields.
Mr Health encouraged country people to jump onto SANE’s online forums and talk about difficult issues in a safe environment moderated 24/7 by mental health professionals. He said the forums were good places for people having a tough time.
“When I think back to when my cousin developed schizophrenia, it was not as if I could have walked into Mooroopna’s post office or general store and asked ‘is there anyone here who can share an experience dealing with these issues?’” he said.
“But the SANE forums give people a chance to share those stories.”
Anyone struggling with mental illness can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.