Aussies think depressed should 'get over it'

beyondblue's latest survey on depression reveals an alarming response from the public.

With Mental Health Week: upon us (Oct 7-14 )a new survey from beyondblue has revealed an alarming rise in opinion that depressed people should just get on with it. It seems teh vision of a stalwart and stoic Aussie is alive and well within teh general public

The survey shows more than one in four Australians wrongly think people with severe depression should ‘pull themselves together and push on’

At the start of Mental Health Week, beyondblue CEO Kate Carnell AO says its alarming that beyondblue’s latest Depression Monitor survey shows that many Australians still hold stigmatising attitudes towards people with depression, don’t know the facts and aren’t sure what to do if someone they know shows signs of depression.

Ms Carnell said: “Of the three thousand people who took part in this national telephone survey, around one in three respondents (35%) wrongly believed it is helpful to keep out of the way of someone who is depressed, one in four (25%) wrongly believed people with severe depression should pull themselves together and around one in five (21%) wrongly thought it is helpful to encourage a depressed person to ‘put on a brave face and push on’.”

For more informationon the survey results  visit beyongblue.org.au