Let's Talk - Breaking Mental Health Stigma Jane Fitzgibbon Jane openly shared her own experience of losing a son to suicide due to anxiety and depression. She told of a how this happened at a time of great optimism and success in their family and how her son, Sam's, illness was a hidden secret. Sam presented to everyone as happy and positive about the future. He had plans for the farm and plans to travel. If Sam was physically sick he would quickly be on the phone to mum to arrange a doctor's appointment but he was not open about his mental illness. Sadly he resorted to taking his life. Jane spoke about the need in our community to be open about mental illness and to talk about this issue amongst our family and friends. She believes that if this had been a more acceptable topic in our community perhaps Sam would not have taken his life. He would have known that there were others, just like him, who also were struggling with anxiety and depression and would have more readily been able to access help. Jane encouraged Rotarians to continue the conversation with family, friends and colleagues to break the silence around mental health. John Parkinson The rate of suicide in Australia is increasing: 2015 - 3027, 2016 - 3250. This represents thousands of people who are asking, "What could we have done?" Let's talk is about getting back to basics. 3% is all the time we spend in face to face conversation in our communication. The other 97% is social media, texting, etc. We are losing the benefit of looking at each other. When we talk face-to-face we see the body language and hear the tone of another's communication, these give us clues as to how the other is coping. We lose this in electronic communication. Current cultural attitudes are also a impediment to good mental health. These include attitudes of denial, secrecy, and avoidance. Changing these attitudes to ones of acceptance, openness, and helpfulness will help fight the stigma of mental illness and potentially save lives. The club thanked Jane and John for their presentation which provided some good food for thought and raised some insightful questions. (Editors Note: If this week's discussion on mental health has raised issues for you, please talk to someone or seek professional help. If you don't feel you can talk freely to family or friends, you can contact Lifeline on 131114, or talk to your GP. ) |
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