Stand up and be counted

On an optimistic note mental health is getting quite a bit of attention during this election campaign.

There's a GetUp campaign working with Australian of the Year Patrick McGorry to draw attention to the actions that need to be taken to address mental health care needs in this country.  (If you sign petitions, this is a good one.)

There was even a candlelight vigil in Melbourne attended by hundreds of people who felt that the issue was important enough to turn up to on a cold winter's evening. There are more planned around the country too if you're interested in joining in or hosting one yourself.

Usually the things I write about in this blog tend to be, well, a bit of downer really don't they? I guess that's inevitable given the subject. So it feels good to be able to point to something and say look, there's some positive action being taken. People are talking about mental health. It's not in the shadows any more. We are not alone, sadly, not by a long shot.