Achieving and maintaining psychological wellbeing
Almost half of all Australians between the ages of 16-85 years (7.3 million people) have experienced mental disorders at some point in their lives. Anxiety, stress, depression, alcohol and drug abuse can have a long term effect on your health, wellbeing and work productivity.
Self help is a great start to the road to recovery. Here are eight quick tips from PPC Worldwide, the company which provides counselling services to University staff:
- Build confidence
Identify your abilities and weaknesses together, accept them
build on them and do the best with what you have. - Eat right, keep fit
A balanced diet, exercise and rest can help you to reduce stress and enjoy life. - Give and accept support
Friends and family relationships thrive when
they are “put to the test”. - Create a meaningful budget
Financial problems cause stress. Over-spending
on our “wants” instead of our “needs” is often the
culprit. - Manage stress
Learning how to deal with stressorswhen they threaten to
overwhelm us will maintain our mental health. - Find strength in numbers
Sharing a problem with others who have had similar
experiences may help you find a solution and will make you
feel less isolated. - Identify and deal with moods
We all need to find safe and constructive ways to express our
feelings of anger, sadness, joy and fear. - Learn to be at peace with yourself
Get to know who you are, what makes you really happy, and
learn to balance what you can and can’t change about yourself.
Download simple five-step programs from PPC Worldwide on:
Download more fact sheets and self help programs - log on to the PPC Online Wellbeing Library
Where to go for help - external services
- Mensline Australia - supports men who are dealing with family and relationship difficulties, particularly around family breakdown and separation. They have a 24 hour, 7 day a week telephone helpline for men available at the cost of a local call.
- NSW Women's Refuge Resource Centre - provides contacts number for emergency referral services for women.
- Lifeline - offers telephone counselling 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can also offer face to face counselling by appointment. Face to face services include financial counselling, problem gambling counselling, relationship counselling, substance abuse counselling and suicide prevention and suicide bereavement support.
- SANE - is a national charity running campaigns, offering education and undertaking research to improve the lives of people living with a mental illness.
- Headspace - is Australia's national youth mental health foundation. The organisation provides mental health and wellbeing support, information and services to young people aged 12-25, and their families. Headspace has 30 centres across Australia.
- beyondblue - is the national depression initiative which provides information, self help guides, events, news and other resources for people with depression, anxiety and related substance misuse disorders.
