Stress and Wellbeing in Australia Survey

Stress and wellbeing in Australia 2012:
A state-of-the-nation survey

For the second successive year, the Australian Psychological Society - representing more than 20,000 members around Australia - commissioned a stress and wellbeing survey of the Australian adult population (1552 people aged 18 and over) to examine their experience of stress, including the causes of stress, their methods of managing stress and the methods they rated as most effective.

What the survey found

• Australians reported significantly higher levels of psychological distress in 2012, with nearly a quarter (22%) of respondents reporting moderate to severe levels of distress this year.
• Australians reported significantly lower levels of wellbeing compared to 2011.
• One in five Australians (18%) reported that stress was having a strong to very strong impact on their mental health.
• Also, one in five Australians reported stress was having a strong to very strong impact on their physical health.
• Almost half of Australians reported drinking to help manage stress.
• A considerable number of people (40%) found the effort to maintain a healthy lifestyle a source of stress.
• Over one third of respondents (41%) reported regularly using social networking sites to manage stress, with over half of these users rating it as effective.
• Many Australians are seeking medical and psychological assistance to manage stress, when needed.
• Many Australians reported using psychological techniques to manage stress, including focusing on the positive, adjusting expectations, and avoiding stressful situations or people, and rated these strategies as effective for managing stress.

Read the survey summary here

Read the full survey report here

Media release: Staying fit and healthy stressing out Australians