Mental health in New Zealand

[1] New Zealand's 'outdoor life style' and high standard of living are balanced by isolation and a self-reliant culture, which discourages asking for help.

[2] Historically, people with mental health problems were institutionalised, whereas now the focus is on care in the wider community.

[3] The stigma around poor mental health has been lessened in recent years as a result of this change and public education campaigns.

[1][4] In New Zealand, mental health is considered the capacity to think and act in ways that increase your enjoyment of life and help you overcome challenges.

[6] Tangata whaiora (people seeking wellness) try to learn to incorporate their condition into their daily lives so that they have a full and satisfying life.

A mental disorder (or illness) can be medically diagnosed by definition and more damaging effect on the sufferer's life.

[8] From the settlement of New Zealand (c. 1300 AD) till into the 20th century most Māori believed in a supernatural origin of mental illness.

[11][12] In the 1840s, the societal response to people with mental illness was imprisonment in specially-built sections of local jails; no treatment was provided.

The earliest of these institutions were small and near city centres, while later in the century they became immense hospitals built in secluded locations, such as Seacliff Lunatic Asylum.

[17] By 1916, halfway houses were being built to provide accommodation for veterans with 'shell shock' (post-traumatic stress disorder), which sometimes led to substance abuse.

However, in the medical and public consciousness, there was still a division between people suffering from illness or bad experiences and the incurably insane.

[17] In the 1930s, a number of medical procedures were introduced, including brain surgery, induced insulin coma, and electroconvulsive therapy.

[19] Janet Frame, a famous New Zealand writer, was held at the asylum during the 1940s and was wrongly diagnosed as a schizophrenic.

[20] By 1969, a quarter of all mental patients were still in then-outdated asylum era buildings that lacked the design improvements from the previous 50 years.

[29] The effects of poor mental health range from lost work hours to suicide and damage the whole community.

[4] New Zealanders who are sentenced to prison have a three times higher rate of mental illness than the rest of the population.