New Book ‘Mental State’
A manifesto about what’s wrong with Australia’s mental health system and a guidebook for how to treat it, by a neurotic shrink who lives it every day.
Psychiatrist Dr Mark Cross has spent most of his adult life working in the mental health system. He also suffers from anxiety, as do three out of four Australians at some point in their lives, so he knows first-hand the challenges, successes and failures facing both patients and professionals. What he has discovered is that while Australia’s physical health system is world-renowned, its mental health system falls miserably short. From soaring out-of-pocket costs to excruciatingly long wait times and overworked nurses to inhumane treatment conditions, we are failing people at all stages of their search for clearer, calmer minds.
In this manifesto, Dr Cross takes a deep dive into mental illness — who suffers, why, how we treat them and what we need to do better. Written in Dr Cross’s warm and entertaining style, Mental State includes his own stories of working inside the system, as well as the experiences of patients attempting to navigate it and the practitioners working within.
“Such a warm book about an occasionally taboo subject. Some of your experiences had me in tears. The world of medicine is greater by your presence in it.”
Ronni Salt, Political Commentator
Previous Books
Changing Minds
This compassionate and insightful guide demystifies mental health issues and help anyone concerned about themselves or loved ones.
Leading psychiatrist Dr Mark Cross, from the acclaimed ABC TV series Changing Minds, feels strongly that everyone should have easy access to information they can trust about common mental health problems, whether for themselves or to help family or friends.
The result is this empowering guide, written with Dr Catherine Hanrahan, which aims to cut through the myths and taboos about mental health and offer clear, practical help. It covers a wide range of common issues, from bipolar, anxiety, personality and eating disorders, to depression, post-traumatic stress and schizophrenia, and includes how to get help, what treatments are available and how to live successfully with a mental illness.
Most importantly, it shows how carers and families can help a loved one through what can be a very challenging time.
This is an excellent and much needed book. It's easy to read and understand, kind and intelligent, and demystifies many aspects of mental health difficulties and their treatments. I hope there is a copy of Changing Minds in every high school and public library in Australia. Many health professionals could do with a copy in their Christmas stocking too!
5 star review on Amazon
Anxiety
Expert advice from a neurotic shrink who's lived with it all his life
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Mark Cross knows a lot about anxiety. Many of his patients are sufferers, which is hardly surprising, given anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia, affecting up to one in four people at some point in their lives. But Mark also knows about anxiety from another perspective, because he too has suffered from anxiety all his life.
In this book, the well-known author of Changing Minds, who featured on the award-winning ABC TV series of the same name, demystifies this mental illness in his trademark warm and friendly style. He looks at causes, treatments, both medical and natural, anxiety in the workplace and more, sharing his own experiences as well as stories from others.
This is a brave book because Mark has removed the protective armour of his professional standing and revealed his own vulnerability. He is not speaking from on high, as some invulnerable medical lord talking down to the wounded masses. He is one of us: what is called the ‘wounded healer’; someone who can holp others because he knows from the inside how it feels.
Magda Szubanski