I am passionate about saving lives. May I invite you to join me on this important journey?
The fire in my belly started some 6 years ago when I was blessed to be selected by Beyond Blue to present seminars on their behalf to rural and regional areas of Victoria and NSW on how businesses could create more mentally healthy workplaces.
It was simultaneously some of the most challenging and rewarding work I have ever done. It was humbling so many people felt safe enough to speak with me privately after an event and open up about mental health crises they had endured in their lives, yet never discussed with anyone before.
Stigma around mental health conditions, sadly, remains one of the biggest challenges our society must deal with. It is one of the major reasons people fail to seek help when needed, therefore prolonging their pain, and putting them at higher risk of suicide.
My brother suicided when I was 20 years old. I believe neither of my parents ever truly recovered from this event. Their shame and guilt was so intense, they told my sister and I to say he’d died in a car accident.
On becoming a mother, I was broken apart by a severe case of Postnatal Depression, requiring a 4-month hospitalisation.
More recently, while dealing with a diagnosis of PTSD, Covid came along, and decimated my business income. That, combined with the isolation of living alone during prolonged lockdowns was the catalyst to a 3-month admission to hospital for Major Depressive Disorder.
These lived experiences, and the extensive research I have done has led me to the unique position of passionately and practically assisting businesses to build more psychological (mental) safety in their workplaces. There are compellingly strong legal, business, and moral/human cases for organisations to look after the mental safety of their employees just as they look after their physical safety.
My latest program, Mental Health Matters For Business, is breaking down the walls of stigma and providing practical tools for my clients in building their staff’s resilience as well as their courage and skills in looking out for and supporting each other.
So, am I really saving lives? I don’t know. What I do know is that we can never truly know the ripple effect of our actions and words. And that’s why I do the work I do and invite you to join me on this journey.