What is mental health?
Mental health problems (commonly referred to as mental illness) are common and will affect about one in five Australians at some point in their lives. Many staff, students and other members of the University community will experience mental health problems or will be affected by the mental illness of someone close to them.
Mental health disability is defined by the Disability Discrimination Act (1992) as "a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person's thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results in disturbed behaviour".
Examples:
Mental illness can include:
- mood related disorders (depression, bi-polar)
- anxiety related disorders (phobias, panic, post-traumatic stress, acute stress, obsessive compulsive behaviour)
- psychoses (schizophrenia)
- personality disorders (borderline, paranoia, anti-social)
- eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia)
Resources
Fact sheets
- Understanding depression - information for adults (.pdf)
- What causes depression? (.pdf)
- Anxiety disorders (.pdf)
- Bipolar disorder (.pdf)
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (.pdf)
- Social Phobia (.pdf)
- Personality disorders
- How can you help someone with depression/anxiety? (.pdf)
- Practical ways to help someone with depression (information card) (.pdf)
- Strategies for dealing with difficult behaviour (journal article)
- A comprehensive overview of Bipolar Disorder