I’m pretty lucky, I had 27 years with 4 grandparents. By 28, I’ll still be lucky with 2.
July 14th, my anxiety was spiking as I was scheduled to sit my first law exam. Mum came home, tears in her eyes, I said “what’s wrong?”. She said “I don’t know if I should tell you”. “Just tell me”, I replied.
I would hope most of you are aware of the current same-sex marriage (SSM) postal vote; to be more specific, a plebiscite. A non-binding survey, used to gauge the position of the Australian electorate. The last national plebiscite was in 1977 to determine what our national song would be. The only other national plebiscites were in 1916, and 1917 regarding military service. Considering our current level of technology, the fact that this is neither mandatory, nor binding, as well as costing roughly $122 million, the question of why ‘bother with a plebiscite?’ is a reaction many have had.
Today is International Nurses Day. A day many of us wouldn’t know about.
I owe a lot to the nurses I’ve crossed paths with. In fact if any of us have ever had to experience the medical world and walk into a hospital either for ourselves, or a loved one, we owe more to the nurses we crossed paths with than we realise.
More gratitude, more appreciation, and more respect.
Graduating university; a significant achievement for some, an inevitability for others, and an impossibility for many.
I never imagined finishing university. Actually, that’s not entirely true.
Growing up, especially during high school, university was an inevitability for me. After all, that’s what you do, you go to high school, finish your exams, go to university and get a degree, and then get a job. That’s what we are taught to do, that’s the way the education system is structured. I never imaged any other path was realistic, let alone actually possible.
Today is international Women’s Day, and so to the women in my life...
Dear women,
If there’s anything I know it’s that you have had, and continue to have an immeasurable role in my life. I quite literally wouldn’t be here without you – in fact none of us would be.
Thank you for bringing me into this world, and more importantly for keeping me in it.
You have loved me when I was unlovable; you listened when no one else would.
Valentine’s Day, the day of love, can actually sometimes suck (and not in a good way).
In my world, it seems that everyone is in a serious relationship these days, or getting engaged or married, or having babies. Their Saturday nights are now date nights, Sundays are couple adventure days. A night out ends at 10, occasionally midnight, let alone anything later. Social media is of their romantic getaways, or anniversaries. Time they once had is very much limited. Things have changed.
Most of us think we know how to communicate. After all, we spend a large amount of time talking to other people, sharing stories, asking questions. Yet wherever I go, the topic most commonly raised is communication.
How do I talk to the person I care about? What do I do when they don’t want to talk to me? How can I start the conversation? What advice can I give?
Communication is possibly the hardest skill to master for many of us. Fortunately, it’s a skill we can always develop.
Photos can do a lot of things. They inspire, educate, shock us, and make us think. They capture beauty, evoke fear, happiness, sadness, hope, and love. They can be a mirror of what society values, and what we would rather ignore. They can capture what words simply cannot; after all, as the saying goes – “a picture is worth a thousand words”.
...
So what do pictures have to do with mental health?
As part of the ABC's Mental As programming, Jessica Bineth interviewed both mum and dad, to help give a parents perspective on my depression. It also sheds light on how a mental illness can affect more than just the sufferer.
"He called me into his room very upset one morning and said, 'mummy my heart is black, my body is full of anger and I wish I was dead'."
Mental illness is often an uncomfortable topic for many as people have a lack of understanding or cannot comprehend. It is essential to share the facts and talk openly about experiences in order to equip others with knowledge and fight the stigma attached to mental illness that directly impacts on those affected.
…
“I told mum my heart is black, my body is full of anger and I want to die”
Schwartz, now 25 and Taylor, 24, told their excruciatingly personal stories of mental ill-health at The Sunday Telegraph’s Can We Talk forum in Newcastle on Tuesday.
For both young people, the key to survival was finding the courage to tell their parents the truth about their feelings — and then trying several mental health professionals until they found one who ‘clicked’.
I'm fortunate to be alongside 11 other amazing young people who have openly shared their stories, not just amongst friends, but to a national audience. For some, this may seem like a dream, however for others, it's the complete opposite; even acknowledging it within themselves, or being open with their loved ones can take years, let alone being ready to share with the country.
It is a true reflection on the recovery, strength, and wellness of all these individuals.
The mental health journey of 24-year-old university student Adam Schwartz has taken him to the darkest places since he was 10, but "hope for the future" is what saved him from severe depression.
Mr Schwartz — who is now an author, speaker and Black Dog volunteer youth presenter based in Sydney — said he had suicidal thoughts from a young age.
"Mum has reminded me that when I was 10, I told her my heart is black, my body is full of anger, and that I wish I was dead," he said.
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by Kathryn Ryan for Radio New Zealand National. Not only did we discuss my book 'mum, i wish i was dead', we went into detail about the tools I use to maintain my health, the importance of persistence, struggles with suicide, the effects depression has on family, friends and school, what it's like to wear the "mask" to try and fit in, as well as much more.
FOR many months during his teenage years, Adam Schwartz could hardly get out of bed, let alone leave the house. He would cry himself to sleep every night, and couldn’t bring himself to look in the mirror in the morning.
Schwartz, now 24, traces his crippling battle with depression back to when he was 10.
“Mum reminds me that I said to her one day, ‘My heart is black, my body is full of anger, and I wish I was dead.’ At 10,” he tells The AJN.
This is a personally signed copy.