Tuesday 16 January 2018

Mental Health: 81% of people think that it has a stigma attached to it! 😷

iReach Insights Press Release   
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  • 81% of people still think that mental health has a stigma attached to it.
  • The top 3 activities that people do to improve their mental health is 1. Exercise (62%), 2. Sleeping (60%) and 3. Taking time for themselves (49%).
  • 37% think that there aren’t enough helplines and easy access to contacts in Ireland for people who would like help.
  • 41% think mental health is a topic you can’t talk about openly in Irish Society.
  • 81% of people still think that mental health has a stigma attached to it.
  • 73% of people think employers in Ireland should take mental health days as seriously as sick days.
  • In reality, 69% of people don’t think employers in Ireland do take mental health days as seriously as sick days.




Statistically, yesterday was the most depressing day of the year and with 47% of adults in Ireland feeling deflated and low returning to work this January. We decided to ask our panel about their mental health. IReach Insights conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,001 adults in Ireland who were asked about the importance of mental health and different things they do in order to improve their mental health. The survey questions were included in the Nationally Representative iReach Consumer Decisions Omnibus run between the 11th January and the 15st January and has a 3% Confidence Interval and 95% Confidence Level.




81% of adults in Ireland stated that mental health is important to them. The top 3 activities that people do to improve their mental health is 1. Exercise (62%), 2. Sleeping (60%) and 3. Taking time for themselves (49%). This survey also looked at the difference between genders and the way in which the different sexes find different solutions for improving their mental health. The Top 3 differences between the gender is 1. Meeting up with friends / family with 29% of males doing this and 56% of females doing this. 60% of females take time for themselves compares with 37% of males. Unsurprisingly a lot more females (29%) than males (8%) partake in retail therapy.
In the survey we asked if people think that there are enough helplines and easy access to contacts in Ireland for people who would like to get help! Opinions were divided with 37% responding that no there are not, 33% think there is and 30% are on the fence stating they are unsure. When we consider the regional differences, opinions varied widely. Of those 37% saying that there not enough helplines or easy access to contacts in Ireland for people: Dublin – 32%, Rest of Leinster – 45%, Munster – 36%, Connacht/ Ulster – 44%. This suggests that there is more helplines and access to contacts in Dublin compared to other parts of Ireland.
Although there is increased media coverage surrounding mental health issues and various celebrities having come forward in recent years to talk about their own mental health issues, a huge 81% of people still think that mental health has a stigma attached to it. In general, 41% think mental health is a topic you can’t talk about openly in Irish Society, 36% think you can talk about it openly and 22% are unsure.
Unsurprisingly, 64% of people in Ireland think that we suffer from mental health issues more nowadays than in the past. In comparison to other countries, 42% of people think Irish people are less open than other nationalities about talking about mental health issues. It can be difficult to approach the topic of mental health with employers, but in some cases, this is necessary if you need to take time off. 73% of people think employers in Ireland should take mental health days as seriously as sick days. In reality, 69% of people don’t think employers in Ireland do take mental health days as seriously as sick days.
We have made progress in recent years, especially in raising awareness when it comes to mental health and wellbeing. With that in mind the most popular initiatives that can be implemented to help those with mental health issue is Education in Schools / Universities (71%), Reducing the Stigma (67%) and talking more openly about it (65%).

 For more information on these research findings please feel free to call iReach on 01-2143740 or email Oisin at oisin.byrne@ireachhq.com


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