Depression and Its Symptoms

...

Beyond Blue acknowledges in today’s society the openness of equal rights, ranging from lesbians, gays, bi-sexual, intersex and overall gender and sexually diverse individuals. Often these people have a greater risk of being diagnosed with depression due to the fact that not all members of society are accepting of such changes and can harass/bully sexually diverse people, this leads to self-hatred amongst themselves and in some cases self-harming and suicidal thoughts. I find it very important for BeyondBlue to acknowledge the “outcasts “of society and provide a platform letting them know that they do not discriminate on any level. “ All Australians deserve the opportunity to express their love and commitment through marriage, regardless how they identify. The sense of loss, hurt and discrimination experienced by those who are denied this opportunity is profound “(BeyondBlue, 2017). From personal experience, I have known of an individual who committed suicide due to the hatred from others of being homosexual, it truly saddens me knowing that there are people out there who bully and harass a person over their sexual choices. This is a step forward in today’s society as ten years ago such equality was looked down upon and I am happy to be a part of a generation that approves of gender equality and acknowledges their feelings.

Beyond Blue’s goal is to restore the feelings and resentment that depression can have on the mind mentally and physically, prior to the succession of this goal today’s must be taught to be aware and Beyondblue is helping this case by taking the next step society locally and nationally.

The resources available are intricate and offer various assistance towards different age groups and genders, specifically towards the groups that are more prone to depression. It further focuses in on the school system, firstly looking at early childhood (primary school) and providing information on how to see early signs of depression and how to assist upon them on an early age by promoting a KidsMatter program that involves improving the mental health and well-being of children, reducing mental health difficulties among children and supporting children and the families experiencing mental health difficulties. Furthermore they look into secondary schooling as sexual and life changing events often occur around this time and more prone to depression they require a heavy focus. They have a programed called MindMatters, providing resources that include “curriculum resources to develop students skills and capacity to improve resilience and promote positive mental health, informing youth on depression and strategies to support the youth with the issue”(BeyondBlue,2017) I find it fascinating and encouraging that beyondBlue is taking the extra step into looking at the specific age groups and targeting improvements within that age group in the schooling system, I think that the extra incentive to target specific age groups values the credibility and important outlook on what BeyondBlue is trying to achieve and provides a real effort in assistance.

BeyondBlue is advertised and promoted with intelligent methods using social media outlets such as Facebook, twitter and Instagram. Exposing their cause to outlets will bring attention to outsiders who were unaware of the mental illness and what affect it can have. It sparks an interest that otherwise was not looked at and creates conversation amongst people, word of mouth can increase the awareness of BeyondBlue. The vibrant blue colour background with the bold white writing standing is a marketing tool to attract attention to the cause. I think Raising awareness is vital and has importance as the general public may not be aware of signs of depression in everyday lives, advertisements, billboards and social media networks triggers attention of the community, if attention is given then there will be more incentive to assist those who suffer from depression and supports the mission statement of creating conversation amongst the community.

Whilst BeyondBlue has many creative strategies in improving depression awareness on a local scale, there are some disadvantages that Beyondblue have that I wish to be improved on in the near future.

The accessibility is an issue as they do exist in some areas; they are insufficient in the majority of areas through Australia only supplying 21 information kiosks and are abnormally small compared to the figures of depression in Australia.

The programs for kids and teenagers in the education system have only been implemented into 10% of school across Australia. This concerns me knowing that they have acknowledged the issues yet however not provided further resources needed to apply them in majority of the locations. I believe the high school program is a necessity and should be implemented into every school across Australia as it can help with teenagers combatting depression whilst being educated on the issue.

There is a range of professional GP’s and psychologists contact from Beyondblue, however they are not evenly spread amongst the nation, specifically in the Northern Territory listing only five professional GP’s listed (BeyondBlue, 2016), this is a vital issue that BeyondBlue must address as the suicide rate in the Northern Territory is the highest in Australia at 24.6% of suicides occurring (NTnews, 2015). I feel that due to this brutal statistic and lack of cliental in the Northern area that there is not enough being done to combat the depression, due to their only being five professionals listed they may be costly as they are most likely in high demand, lack of clientele and overall costs of assistance must be addressed by Beyondblue, this can be done by reaching out to health clinics around Australia and transferring GP’s from other states to the Northern Territory to ensure further assistance. Due to the economic climate this can increase in the near future if not addressed.

Overall BeyondBlue is not only an effective agency but also beneficial for the community on a national and global scale providing a much needed service to a range of people. Although there are various issues that must be addressed in order to enhance the assistance for the community. I believe they have already taken their mission statement in the right direction; however tweaks in the right direction can lead BeyondBlue to being the most successful help agency in aiding depression In Australia. It makes me feel proud to be living in Australia knowing that this country has taken the step of addressing the issues of mental health in today’s society, I can see the impact of this agency increasing further and reaching out to the masses. I hope BeyondBlue takes that extra steps in addressing the negatives and create only positives to assist the