Tag: suicide prevention
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“I have hope now”: interviewing Sarah Lungu
Sarah Lungu shares her mental health struggles with JC Clapham Sitting down to a conversation with Sarah Lungu, one gets a sense she knows her delicacies very well, yet also wields a steely determination. Even on Zoom during Victoria’s most recent lockdown, Sarah’s resolve is evident – almost tangible. But as Sarah herself shares with…
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Looking forward, looking back. I’ve come a long way down the track
Five years is a brilliant achievement for a printed publication, these days. Let alone one that is community-focused and produced largely by volunteers. FIVE. YEARS! Let’s all pause for a moment (or five) to acknowledge that in a period of time when printed newspapers are thinning in both quantity and genuinely-local content, The Westsider is…
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Running for mental health
It’s been six years since I did a run of any note. Six years… and during that time I’ve reached the end of the rope and managed to pull myself back, to once again smile. But not everyone is that lucky… Imagine a growing number of men, trained in mental health first aid, who can…
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Like father, like son? No. Not at all.
27 March this year was the last ‘coming-of-age’ milestone of my father’s suicide. He took his own life twenty-one years ago, in 1998. Ordinarily I’m overcome with a sense of dread in the weeks before this annual milestone, but this year, I wasn’t.
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How my father’s suicide helped me to become a ‘real man’
It was Saturday, March 28, 1998, when I received the news that would cast a shadow over the rest of my life. I was 16 years old, and nothing would ever be ‘normal’ as I knew it, again. My dad had killed himself and now, 20 years on, I still have a father-shaped hole in…
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Red Dog, I’m Truly Blue | The Westsider
One of the many shitful things about having a parent who died while I was young is that my kids never knew him. In my case, my dad would never be the ‘Pop’ his father was to me. He’d only ever be a blank, a gap, for them. My father’s suicide when I was 16…
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#YOUCANTALKABOUT suicide | The Westsider
A new suicide prevention education campaign has been launched through a collaboration of leading mental health organisations in Australia. The campaign aims to empower people and increase their confidence when it comes to talking about suicide. It is a collaboration between beyondblue, Black Dog Institute, Everymind, headspace, Lifeline, ReachOut and R U OK?, and in…
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Where should I take my show HUMPTY DUMPTY DADDY?
Depression and suicide are far too common, particularly amongst men in regional areas. My father lived in regional Victoria, and he became a statistic. I was living in regional Victoria when I nearly became a statistic myself. I’m keen to hear suggestions on where my storytelling show HUMPTY DUMPTY DADDY, which tells of my dad…
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HUMPTY DUMPTY DADDY in Darwin
In mid-July, I spent three days in Darwin to do my storytelling show HUMPTY DUMPTY DADDY as part of the Darwin Fringe Festival. I learned a lot from that festival and those audiences. About the show itself and about me, too. I know more about what the show HUMPTY DUMPTY DADDY is. It’s a weird…
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Humpty Dumpty Daddy is going to Sydney
I’m super excited to share with you that my storytelling show about fatherhood and mental health, Humpty Dumpty Daddy, will be part of this year’s Sydney Fringe program. After great audience feedback in Melbourne and Adelaide, (and good pre-show buzz in Darwin for mid-July) I’m taking my story to more people in more places. Tickets aren’t…