About 33,000 people in Malta suffer from depression, yet less than a third of them seek the help that would improve their lives drastically.

"This highlights the stigma that still surrounds mental health issues. People are afraid to show they need help and visit a psychiatrist. But the truth is, when you break your leg, it's useless to go to a dentist. It's important to seek the right help," the Parliamentary Secretary for Community Care, Mario Galea said.

He stressed that there needed to be a better understanding and awareness about what constituted mental health and how to seek help. For this reason, the government launched a series of informative leaflets that explain different types of mental health issues. These include depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder and the influence of drugs and alcohol on mental health.

"Mental health is the balance between all aspects of our life: social, physical, emotional and spiritual. It is about the way a person thinks, feels and behaves. It impacts on how we cope with stress, how we relate to others, how we make decisions in our lives and how we manage our surroundings," one leaflet reads.

The leaflets, that come in Maltese and English, will be distributed in all health centres, community centres and at hospital. They include useful telephone numbers where a person can call to seek help.

They also list several recommendations to maintain good mental health. These include: talking about your feelings, keeping active through exercise, doing something you are good at, helping others and eating healthy food.

"People with mental health problems need to be respected. Such problems could affect anyone as we all can go through difficult times in our lives... I'd like to send a message to people with no mental health problems to help those who have. Sometimes it can be something as simple as asking someone if they need anything," Mr Galea said.