Mental Health Issues In Ireland

Mental health and mental health disorders are one of the largest public health challenges in Ireland to date. Mental health can be defined as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease’ (WHO, 2016a). Mental health is important for helping us to manage our daily lives and to maintain healthy relationships with friends, family members, communities and society itself. Mental health and mental disorders are generally characterized by some combination of disturbed thoughts, emotions, behaviour and relationships with others, for example; depression, anxiety, conduct disorders in children, bipolar disorders and schizophrenia (WHO, n.d). In recent years there has been a large emphasis on the importance

Many people who experience mental health difficulties can be put under additional stresses due to the stigma associated with mental illness and societal discrimination against those with mental illnesses (PHAI,2016). Based on the findings of a National Disability Authority study “Public Attitudes To Disability In The Republic Of Ireland” (2002) we can clearly see that people with mental health difficulties experience even more discriminatory attitudes, for example, 30% of respondents were fully comfortable with people who have mental health difficulties living in their neighbourhood, in comparison to 50% with those of other disabilities, also, 40% of respondents said that people with mental health difficulties should not have children compared to a mere 13% for intellectual disability and 9% for physical disability

In addition, Ireland ranks 72nd in the world for depression, with a DALY rate of 959.3, coming close to the UK which ranked higher with 960.6***. In relation to data collected in 2013 by the OECD, Ireland has on average 11 deaths per 100,000 of the population for intentional self-harming deaths, in comparison to 12.5 for the United States and a mere 7.6 for the United Kingdom. Ireland also has on average 0.6 psychiatric care beds available compared to 0.2 in the United States and 0.5 in the United Kingdom (OECD, 2012). Ireland’s self-perceived health percentages were very high at 82.8% rating their health good- very good, compared to the European average of 67.2% and the lowest being 45.0% in Lithuania (Eurostat, 2016). Overall life satisfaction in Ireland was rated at 7.4 out of 10, compared to the European average of 7.1 out of 10 and the lowest being Bulgaria with 4.8 out of 10 (Eurostat, 2016). In relation to help provided for mental health issues and mental health disorders, Ireland can be seen to provide approximately 19 psychiatrists per 100,000 habitants in comparison to Switzerland who provide closer to 50 per 100,000 habitants, but still higher than Turkey which can be seen to be providing less than 5 per 100,000 habitants (Eurostat, 2008). According to a report published in 2003 by the European Commission named ‘The state of Mental Health in the European