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MENTAL HEALTH 40% of adult Australians have an episode of depression severe enough to need medical treatment in their lifetime. Many others quietly suffer with depression and or anxiety throughout their lives without ever being diagnosed or treated. Many people develop these conditions in childhood or adolescence and just accept that feeling anxious, worried or low is part of their personalities - later they describe themselves or their family describes them as a "Worrier". Others describe themselves as "Shy' or a "Loner" - these people often have the form of anxiety called "Social Anxiety Disorder" - which means they become excessively anxious and so avoid social situations and often confrontations. Other people experience frightening feeling when they have to go into a shopping centre, or drive across a bridge or on a freeway, others feel the same about lifts or escalators - and so avoid these everyday parts of our modern lives. This condition is a form of anxiety called “Panic disorder". Others have experienced trauma, either in war or natural disaster, or commonly in abusive situations in childhood. Bullying at school or in the workplace is common and those who complain about it are often not supported and in effect abused again when they complain of their treatment. Victims of crime often are traumatised. All these situations commonly lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These people often have nightmares or flashbacks, and may have strange reactions to situations which remind them of their trauma. They may also go into a spaced out sort of absence, to avoid confronting situations that remind them of their past trauma. This is called “Dissociating".
If you would like to speak to someone about your mental health, please make an appointment with Dr David Richardson or Dr Tamara Lam.
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