To coincide with World Mental Health Week, DCU has published a shocking report that highlights the level prejudice people with mental health problems still face in Ireland.

In Dublin, the 5th annual National Choral Singing Week  will take place from 6th to 14th October 2012 as part of the awareness week.

Mental health recovery group GROW has launched a Facebook app that will calculate how many of your Facebook friends may be suffering from depression.

Each participant’s number of Facebook friends is automatically run through an algorithm to estimate how many of them are likely to be experiencing mental health issues at this point in time. GROW have targeted Facebook, as it is the most popular form of communication among under 25s, the demographic which is most vulnerable to anxiety, stress and depression.

Junior Minister for Mental Health Kathleen Lynch has told RTE that the Government is working hard on suicide prevention.

Top line findings from DCU’s research:
. 95 per cent of participants reported some level of unfair treatment because of a mental health problem
.

• The vast majority of respondents (86 per cent) indicated that they experienced some level of distress as a result of unfair treatment
.
• 64 per cent of people reported unfair treatment in making or keeping friends
.
• 63 per cent of people reported having been avoided or shunned because of a mental health problem
.

• 61 per cent of people reported being treated unfairly by family
.
• 44 per cent of people reported being treated unfairly in terms of personal safety 
. ]
• 43 per cent reported being treated unfairly in keeping a job.
• 36 per cent of people reported being unfairly treated in finding a job
.

By Liam Keegan