Mental illness

Certain mental illnesses are associated to some degree with suicidal behaviour. While it is not possible to explain suicide as having a simplistic one to one relationship with mental illness, mental illness is nevertheless a significant risk factor for suicide.

The term mental illness describes a group of illnesses where people may show irrational behaviour, disturbed mood, poor judgement, abnormal perceptions or thoughts, disturbed emotions and ability to relate to others, and inability to cope with life events. The severity of mental illness may range from being brief or episodic, to being persistent and disabling.

This page provides information about mental illness and suicide prevention Australia and includes statistics , brief facts , key players , research  and LIFE project profiles.

Statistics

The following statistics are based on the findings from the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHWB), a nationally-representative household survey of 8,841 individuals aged between 16 and 85 years.

• 45.5% of Australians will experience a mental or substance use disorder at some time in their life.
• One in five Australians will experience a mental or substance use disorder in any 12 month period.
• Anxiety disorders (14.4%) are the most common class of mental illness followed by affective (depressive) disorders (6.2%) and substance use disorders (5.1%).
• Only 35% of people with a mental or substance use disorder used health services for their problem.
• 13% of those surveyed experienced suicidal ideation at some stage in their lives, while over 4% had made a suicide plan and more than 3% had made a suicide attempt.

Brief facts

Here are some facts about the relationship between mental illness and suicidal behaviour (from LIFE Fact Sheet 7)

• The strongest links (between mental illness and suicidal ideation) are with clinical depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcohol or other drug abuse, borderline personality disorder, and behavioural disorders in children and adolescents (e.g. conduct, oppositional).
• Suicide is a more common cause of death among people with schizophrenia and mood disorders than the general population, and the risk for suicidal behaviour is more marked if the person has more than one mental illness.
• People with mental illness are at particular risk of suicide immediately following discharge from psychiatric in-patient care or emergency departments, especially if the person has previously been suicidal or was an involuntary admission and where they live alone or are exposed to work stresses. To assist these people post-discharge, it is therefore important to provide thorough treatment of the circumstances that led to the admission, management of work and other stresses, improved follow-up and ongoing assessment of suicide risk.
• People diagnosed with depression may in the early phases of recovery be at increased risk of acting upon their suicidal ideas due to a delayed response to treatment. It is therefore important to educate individuals, family and carers about this and how to minimise the risk until the patient’s mood recovers and the suicidal ideas abate.

Key Players

Research

• Evaluation of treatment in 35 cases of bipolar suicide (Australia, 2009)
• Differences in cholesterol and metabolic syndrome between bipolar disorder men with and without suicide attempts  (Croatia, 2009)
• Psychosocial Treatment Programs for People With Both Severe Mental Illness and Substance Misuse  (Australia, 2008)
  Primary care of patients with serious mental illness: your chance to make a difference  (USA, 2008)
  
• A systematic review of mental disorder, suicide, and deliberate self harm in lesbian, gay and bisexual people  (UK, 2008)
• square: community mental health setting  (Australia, 2007)
• square: mental health in-patient setting  (Australia, 2007)
• Suicide and mental illness in the media: A Mindframe resource for the mental health sector  (Australia, 2006)
• Antidepressants and the Risk of Suicide, Attempted Suicide, and Overall Mortality in a Nationwide Cohort (USA, 2006)
• Bridging the Spirituality Gap  (Australia, 2005)
• Gender differences in youth depression and suicidal behaviour  (NZ, 2005)
• Suicide and mental health in rural, remote and metropolitan areas in Australia  (Australia, 2004)

For more mental illness related research consult the LIFE library.

LIFE profect profiles

• Mindframe
• MindMatters
• headspace
• SANE Mental Illness and Bereavement Project
• The SANE StigmaWatch Program

For more information about mental health related projects read LIFE News issue 6: mental health.