Australia's largest ever real time mental health survey will be asking 'How is Australia Feeling?' this October.
The biggest killer of men between the ages of 14 and 44 in Australia is suicide (80 per cent of suicides in Australia are men). According to Young and Well CRC's 2013 annual report, almost 90 per cent of young, Australian men have looked for mental health advice online. However only a fraction of these people seek advice in real life.
It's a well known fact (or assumption) that men don't like to talk about their feelings. But it's also known that the risk of suicide diminishes with help and support. Challenging men to start the conversation (both meteorically and literally), Spur Projects is an evolving idea that aims to tackle the rate of suicide amongst men in Australia with bold new approaches.
'How is Australia Feeling?' is the latest campaign that aims to utilise online platforms to start a visible, unified and national debate about mental health in the real world by tracking the emotions of the Australian population over seven days. Though everyone's story is unique, their emotions aren't. The campaign hopes to show users that they aren't alone.
From the 5th to the 12th October, users that have downloaded the app (which is out now) can log on and say how they're feeling (happy, sad, anxious, angry, powerful or peaceful) up to three times throughout the day. In real time the app can then show the user how the rest of Australia is feeling. With successes in their recent campaigns – like 'Fck Up Night' where people got together to meet new faces and share there biggest fuck ups in life – Soften The Fck Up and Spur Projects are always looking for creative ideas that will get the message across without bringing people down more.
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CEO and Co-Founder of Spur Projects, Lee Crockford hopes the nation will get healthier as a result of actively discussing mental health. "We want real conversations on a national scale about mental health. The 'How Is Australia Feeling?' project is one step in this process. We urge people to seek help and information if they feel they need it."
'How Is Australia Feeling?'
