The inquest of the television newsreader Charmaine Dragun's suicide has signaled a mental health crisis in Australia.

In 2007, the body of Ms Dragun was found at The Gap in Eastern Sydney. An inquest of the 29 years old employee of Channel 10 has exposed the fact that she has been on medication for 10 years.

A period of three weeks prior to her death, she withdrew from the drug Effexor while being introduced to another drug- Lexapro.

According to the Council Assisting the coroner, David Hirsch, close watch is needed for patients that have just withdrawn from the drug as there is increased suicidal risk. Before her death, Ms Dragun had been writing and talking about suicide.

The inquest is an opportunity for doctors to learn more about managing patients with depression and is referred to the mental illness crisis of Australia.

For every four hour in a day, a person takes their life, in Australia. According to the inquest, Ms Dragun was not a vacuous celebrity but she is intelligent, respected by her peers and supported by her family. Her mother, Estelle Dragun admitted that hearing the details of her daughter's death is tragic and hard but the family is looking for closure.

She said, We want to make people aware of the seriousness of depression and hopefully the medical profession will have another look at how we deal with it. According to Estelle Dragun, her daughter would have wanted the inquest to give rise to positive results.

The two-week inquest still continues. There is no blame for anybody. This is learning about health and well being and how we can make a better world for it, said Estelle Dragun.

Australia Depression