NAB Specialised Business Bank Executive Health, Kate Galvin noted, “Even before COVID-19, mental health conditions were prevalent, but the pandemic has only increased demand for scarce mental health services.”

Family and friends (60%), GPs/doctors (57%) or other health professionals (43%) are the key sources of help. Around 1 in 10 (9%) people turned to a support line (e.g. Lifeline) or a religious group (7%). Young men are much less likely to turn to professionals for help. Almost 9 in 10 (87%) 18-29-year-old men who needed help, leaned on family and friends for support, compared to 57% of young women, who were much more likely to turn to their GP/doctor or other health professionals.

The survey also reveals that men in all age groups typically rate their health higher across all aspects of health (emotional, physical & social) than women. This gap is most prevalent in the 18-29 age group, particularly for emotional health.

Over 1 in 2 (54%) people who said they needed help but did not receive it

Over 1 in 2 (54%) people who said they needed help but did not receive it, did so because they believed they could manage the issue on their own, while 4 in 10 (40%) were uncomfortable asking for help. For 1 in 4 Australians, the issue was cost (26%), or being embarrassed or afraid of being stigmatised (26%), or simply because they did not know where to get help (24%). Other reasons include feeling uncomfortable with possible treatment (15%); or not wanting support (14%).

Access the full reports from the link below

https://business.nab.com.au/nab-health-australian-wellbeing-report-q4-2020-44782/