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 consumers, 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 from overworked clinicians to inhumane treatment conditions, we are failing people at all stages of their journey to mental wellbeing.

This book takes a deep dive into mental ill-health - who lives with it, how we care for 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 consumers attempting to navigate it and the practitioners working within it.