” Mental health is about being able to work and study to your full potential, cope with day-to-day life stresses, be involved in your community, and live your life in a free and satisfying way. A person who has good mental health has good emotional and social wellbeing and the capacity to cope with change and challenges.

Feeling down, tense, angry, anxious or moody are all normal emotions for people, but when these feelings persist for long periods of time, or if they begin to interfere with their daily life, they may be part of a mental health problem.

Mental health problems can affect your feelings, thoughts and actions, and can affect your ability to function in their everyday activities, whether at school, at work, or in relationships.

If you feel you know a person whose mental health is getting in the way of their daily life, it is important to let them know you are there to support them.

Most parents can tell when something is out of the ordinary, but there are also signs that suggest a young person might be experiencing a mental health problem. “

See Part 2 Below for More INFO and Support HELP Links

Read over 200 Aboriginal Mental Health articles published by NACCHO over past 7 years 

 ” The Federal Government is investing $660,000 over three years into the National Rugby League’s (NRL) Indigenous All Stars, State of Mind program.

The initiative will deliver mental health and resilience workshops to over 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including Indigenous All Stars players, youth summit participants and 15 grassroots clubs with a high proportion of First Nations players.

Elite players will be developed as mental health advocacy leaders within their clubs and communities, encouraging help-seeking behaviours. ”

Minister Ken Wyatt Press Release

With rugby league the most popular participation sport in First Nations communities, the NRL will leverage the game’s reach, profile, clubs and players, to help remove the stigma around mental illness.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience high, or very high, psychological distress, at a rate 2.6 times higher than the rest of the nation.

The NRL developed State of Mind in partnership with Lifeline, Kids Helpline, headspace and the Black Dog Institute.

State of Mind was promoted during the Indigenous All Stars game on Friday 15 February 2019 in Melbourne.

All Star Womens Team

The Deadly Choices and the VAHS ACCHO team set up outside of AAMI Park for the Indigenous All-Stars and visited the Fitzroy clinic

Mental health tools and resources, along with information about the program, is available on the NRL State of Mind website.

Our Government funds a number digital mental health and suicide prevention services, which support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including:

• • $34 million from 2017-19 for BeyondBlue, to provide information, resources and services on their website that support social and emotional wellbeing
  • $16.9 million from 2018-21 for MindSpot, for their free, national online clinic for the treatment of anxiety and depression
  • $6.4 million per year for headspace for their eheadspace program, which provides free, confidential and anonymous telephone and web-based support for young people aged 12 to 25 years with, or at risk of developing, mild to moderate mental illness.

If you need help now

If you are in an emergency situation or need immediate assistance, contact mental health services or emergency services on 000.

If you need to speak to someone urgently, call Lifeline on 13 11 14or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.

Or contact one of our 302 ACCHO Clinics

Part 2 State of Mind 

Signs and Symptoms

It can be helpful to talk to someone about what’s going on in your life if you have noticed a change in how you are feeling and thinking. This might include:

• Feeling things have changed or aren’t quite right
• Changes in the way that you carry out your day-to-day life
• Not enjoying, or not wanting to be involved in things that you would normally enjoy
• Changes in appetite or sleeping patterns
• Being easily irritated or having problems with friends and family for no reason
• Finding your performance at school, TAFE, university or work is not as good as it used to be
• Being involved in risky behavior that you would usually avoid, like taking drugs or drinking too much alcohol, or depending on these substances to feel “normal”
• Feeling sad or ‘down’ or crying for no apparent reason
• Having trouble concentrating or remembering things
• Having negative, distressing, bizarre or unusual thoughts
• Feeling unusually stressed or worried.

Metal health risk factors

A number of overlapping factors may increase your risk of developing a mental health problem. These can include:

• Early life experiences: abuse, neglect, or the loss of someone close to you
• Individual factors: level of self-esteem, coping skills and thinking styles
• Current circumstances: stress at school or work, money problems, difficult personal relationship, or problems within your family
• Biological factors: family history of mental health problems

Looking after your mental health

here are a number of things you can do to look after and maintain your mental health and wellbeing. For example, many people cope with stress by getting involved with sports, exercising, meditating, or practising yoga or relaxation techniques. Others express themselves through art, such as poetry, writing or music. What you eat might also affect your mood – a well-balanced diet will help keep you both physically and mentally healthy.

If you are concerned about your own or a friend’s mental health and wellbeing, headspace is a great place to go for help. Getting support can help you keep on track at school, study or work, and in your personal and family relationships. The sooner you get help the sooner things can begin to improve for you.

The link between good mental health and exercise

Physical exercise is good for our mental health and for our brains. Exercise seems to have an effect on certain chemicals (dopamine and serotonin) in the brain. Brain cells use these chemicals to communicate with each other, so they affect your mood and thinking. Exercise can also stimulate other chemicals in the brain (brain derived neurotrophic factors) which help new brain cells to grow and develop. Exercise also seems to reduce harmful changes in the brain caused by stress.

Any exercise is better than none. A moderate level of exercise seems to work best. This is roughly equivalent to walking fast, but being able to talk to someone at the same time. It’s recommended that if you’re aged 12-18 you need 60 minutes, or if you’re over 18 you need 30 minutes, of moderate physical exercise on most, but preferably all days. This can be done in one 30 minute session or broken up into shorter 10 or 15 minute sessions.

When you’re feeling down the last thing you might feel like doing is working out, but studies have suggested that any activity, from walking around the block to yoga to biking could contribute to improving the symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Visit www.headspace.org.au for more information on all of the above topics.