Yet still to this day, people living with mental illness are faced with a range of stigmas - negative opinions, judgements and stereotypes - that are often rooted in a lack of understanding, or sometimes just sheer ignorance.

Yet, one in five Australians aged between 16 and 85 will experience a mental illness in any year. Of those, 11.5 per cent are living with one disorder - such as depression or anxiety - while 8.5 per cent will have two or more disorders.

Almost half, 45 per cent, of Australians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. So for an issue that affects so many, directly and by association, isn't it about time we got better at talking about it?

At the moment, a National Mental Health Commission is touring the country. Its aim: to start a conversation on getting mental health and suicide prevention systems right - nationwide. Last week, a community forum was held in Launceston, bringing together carers, families and supporters from many walks of life.

Because, while mental illness is often viewed and treated as a medical condition, the measures to address it - including the social determinants - are often not integrated or are sometimes completely absent.

With this in mind, the commission is working to ensure people living with mental illness have access to support in a connected and well-functioning system.

For this integration is key. We also mustn't lose sight of the bigger picture - the need for more preventative measures which will inevitably save money, and most importantly save lives.

You can never tell just by looking at someone, what is going through their mind. Or in the case of Alicia Rosskelly featured in today's Sunday Examiner, what someone is dealing with on the inside.

There are many forms of illness, both physical and mental, that manifest in a way that can't be seen. But that doesn't mean we should ignore it.