Mental health prescriptions rise to 29 million a year!

Last year, there were 29 million perscriptions written for medications used for mental health issues, 60 per cent of these scripts were for anti-depressant medications. Others that were perscribed highly were anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic medications. This information comes from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's (AIHW) new website and was reported in an article in The Australian.

While these figures indicate that many are seeking help, concerns remain that people may not be recieving adequate pyschological support.

These figures are alarming, however AIHW figures also indicate there has been a 25.7 per cent increase in psychological services in the past five years and a 5 per cent increase in community mental health services, but only a 1.9 per cent increase in medication use. This indicates that mental health policy may be moving in the right direction.