A new survey is giving an insight into how Irish women see their mental health.
The research was by conducted by Newstalk and the Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA).
It shows nearly 22% of women have taken medication and 21% have seen a therapist to try and remedy a mental health problem.
Finance is the biggest source of stress for 1-in-3 women.
The survey also illustrates the concerns about the lack of facilities for rural communities with half of women citing that as having the biggest impact on mental health of people in the Irish countryside.
Just under half of respondents – 49.1% – agree ‘a lack of facilities’ has the biggest impact, followed by 43% who cite ‘adverse weather conditions’ as the main contributing factor.
31.5% of those surveyed say they have had a mental health issue while 57% say that a friend/relative has had problems in the same area.
Meanwhile almost 90% of women think there is a stigma about discussing mental health issues.
Caroline McGuigan is from Suicide or Survive.
She told Breakfast here on Newstalk the issue of stigma must be tackled.
Some key results from the 340 respondents are outlined below:
style="text-decoration: underline;">1. How would you rate your current mental health on a scale of 1 to 5?
1 = poor           1.8
2 = ok              10.2%
3 = good          26.3%
4 = very good   32.9%
5 = excellent     28.7%
style="text-decoration: underline;">2. How do you think the recession has affected your mental health?
Improved         1.8
Declined           28.0
No change        70.2%
style="text-decoration: underline;">3. Which of the following would you choose as the most stressful part of your life?
Work               15.8%
Finances           32.2%
Health              19.2%
Relationships with family / friends           20.8%
Motherhood      5.0%
Emigration        6.9%
style="text-decoration: underline;">
style="text-decoration: underline;">4. Do you think Irish men bottle up their feelings?
Yes                  92.4%
No                   7.6%
style="text-decoration: underline;">5. Which of the following factors of living in a rural area has the biggest impact on your mental health?
Lack of facilities – health services; educational services; social outlets; broadband and communication         49.3%
Long working hours                   8.3%
Adverse weather conditions       42.4%
style="text-decoration: underline;">6. What do you think is the main cause of anxiety/depression?
Stress                                                  71.8%
Alcohol / Drug abuse                             13.8%
Bereavement of family / close friend       7.5%
Lack of discipline or willpower                6.9
style="text-decoration: underline;">7. Would you agree or disagree with the following statement: ‘It is better to go to prison than a mental institution as the stigma is less’?
Agree               23.4%
Disagree          76.6%
style="text-decoration: underline;">8. Do you agree or disagree with the statement: ‘Mental illness is an illness like any other’?
Agree               84.3%
Disagree          15.7%
style="text-decoration: underline;">9. Do you think there is a stigma in Ireland about discussing mental health issues?
Yes                  87.4%
No                   12.6%
style="text-decoration: underline;">10. Have you ever had a mental health issue?
Yes                  31.7%
No                   68.3%
style="text-decoration: underline;">
style="text-decoration: underline;">11. Have you ever disclosed a mental health issue to your friends / loved ones?
Yes                  35.4%
No                   64.6%
style="text-decoration: underline;">12. If you disclosed to your GP that you had a mental health issue, how did they react?
I’ve never discussed mental health with my GPÂ Â Â Â 63.0%
Very compassionate      9.5%
Understanding              21.6%
Ambivalent                   2.3%
Unhelpful                      2.3%
Dismissive                    1.3%
style="text-decoration: underline;">13. Have you ever taken medication to treat a mental health issue?
Yes                  22.4%
No                   77.6%
style="text-decoration: underline;">14. Have you ever visited a therapist to treat a mental health issue?
Yes                  21.6%
No                   78.4%
style="text-decoration: underline;">15. Has your partner / parent / sibling / relative / close friend ever had a mental health issue?
Yes                  57.5%
No                   42.5%
style="text-decoration: underline;">16. Have you ever disclosed a mental health issue in your workplace?
Yes                  12.9%
No                   87.1%
style="text-decoration: underline;">17. Do you think commemorating cases of suicide in the media and communities can romanticize the event?
Yes                  33.2%
No                   26.0%
Don’t know       40.8%
* Some questions allowed participants skip past unanswered or to choose more than one answer per question so percentage totals may not total 100%
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