CW: Just a heads up - in this episode we speak about sexual assault, suicidal thoughts and behaviours. If these topics are distressing for you, please see below for resources and where you can go for further help and advice.

Welcome to Facing It! We’re so glad you’re here. 

In today’s episode we are bringing an inspirational chat with Bec Bawden - a formidable young woman from Adelaide.

Bec spoke with us about facing adversity; reflecting on her primary school days and comments on her weight, her high school years and battling depression and the time after she left school when her peers were facing the world outside of school Bec was facing the next six months in hospital.

This interview was a really special one. Disordered eating is something we are both familiar with, something that is widely misunderstood in relation to it’s connection with mental health and a topic that has great stigma attached to it. Bec was just phenomenal in sharing her story, breaking down that stigma and helping us understand how we can have better conversations about people’s physical and mental health together.

In this episode we discuss anorexia, depression and suicidal ideation. If you or someone in your life needs help or further advice please contact the Butterfly Foundation on 1800 33 46 73 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

This episode of Facing It is brought to you by Riverina Bluebell, who are, like us, passionate about raising awareness of mental health by sharing stories and encouraging people to obtain help and support.

For more information about the great work they do in the community and how you can support their cause please visit www.riverinabluebell.org.au or search for Riverina Bluebell on Facebook.

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To learn more about eating disorders and support for loved ones please visit https://butterfly.org.au/

// Credits

Music and Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap

Website: www.facingitpodcast.com

#FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It, we’re so glad you’re here. 

Today’s episode is a real treat, we had the pleasure of a chat with Amanda Morton. Amanda is the founder of Courageous Ladies. With over 11 thousand followers on her instagram platform - Amanda’s messages of raw vulnerability, celebrating diversity and always ensuring there’s some hot pink thrown in have become a movement of their own.

Amanda spoke with us today about the creation of Courageous Ladies, a safe place to be with her feelings when she couldn’t find one following the loss of her Dad to a rare type of leukaemia when she was 25. Grief is not an unfamiliar friend of Amanda’s - when she was 18 she lost her Mum to breast cancer.

Amanda’s bravery, vulnerability and passion for ensuring no one feels alone in their journey whatever that may be is nothing short of awe-inspiring. The way she speaks with us about her strength in dark times, her passion to strive for better for all women and how she looks after her mental health each and every day left us both wanting to be better people, every day.

In this episode we speak about grief and death, depression and anxiety. If you or someone you know needs help or further advice please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

This episode of Facing It is brought to you by Riverina Bluebell, who are, like us, passionate about raising awareness of mental health by sharing stories and encouraging people to obtain help and support.

For more information about the great work they do in the community and how you can support their cause please visit www.riverinabluebell.org.au or search for Riverina Bluebell on Facebook.

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To see the brilliant courageous ladies community for yourself search for @courageousladies on instagram or visit www.courageousladies.com.au

// Credits

Music and Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap

Website: www.facingitpodcast.com

#FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It, we’re so glad you’re here. In today’s episode we had the opportunity to speak with beyondblue spokesperson and RUOK ambassador Megan Barrow. Megan is a marketing director by day, and a mental health crusader by night - having been involved in the advocacy space for close to a decade.

Megan is a ray of sunshine in dark places, her magnetic enthusiasm and her ability to call it like it is was an absolute pleasure to witness. Megan shares with us her lifelong journey with anxiety; at its worst resulting in debilitating agoraphobia in her 20’s, those who were most influential in her life and her management of her anxiety, and how she manages her mental health on a daily basis.

In this episode we discuss anxiety, suicidal thoughts and behaviours and agoraphobia. If you or someone you know needs help or further advice please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.

As two people who live with anxiety, we thought we knew a fair bit about it. Speaking with Megan we learnt SO much about anxiety and how it can manifest. Megan’s sense of humour and her pragmatism in describing what it’s like to live with anxiety for your entire life was as enlightening as it was vulnerable and hilarious all in one. Enjoy!

This episode of Facing It is brought to you by Riverina Bluebell, who are, like us, passionate about raising awareness of mental health by sharing stories and encouraging people to obtain help and support.

For more information about the great work they do in the community and how you can support their cause please visit www.riverinabluebell.org.au or search for Riverina Bluebell on Facebook.

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To see Megan's work in the mental health advocacy space visit her Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/meganbarrow.anxietywarrior

// Credits

Music and Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap

Website: www.facingitpodcast.com

#FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It, we’re so glad you’re here!

In today’s episode we are so thrilled to bring you a chat we had with the affable and inspiring John Harper. John is a retired wheat and sheep farmer and shearer from Stockinbingal in the Riverina region of south-west NSW. In John’s words he was ‘bitten by the black dog’ in his 40’s and after experiencing the benefit of the support of mates and community in his recovery, he has been working hard to improve the mental health outcomes for regional communities ever since.

John has been an Australia Day ambassador representing his community and his work in mental health, he is a podcast host for a phenomenal series called Mate Helping Mate (linked below), and he is a passionate advocate for mental health in regional communities. He also is a very proud father and grandfather, and he has a contagious charm that makes you want to settle in for a cuppa. John shared with us his journey in mental ill-health; what it looked and felt like, how he found seeking support services, and what his loved ones did to support him in his recovery. He also talks in such a beautiful way about how the simple stuff really is the key to looking after ourselves and our loved ones. We wish that we had the video to show you of our interview with John, his analogies and his explanations of mental health support are so spot on it left us both speechless in awe of his work.

In this episode we discuss depression and suicidal thoughts. If you or someone you know needs assistance or further advice please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Men’s Line on 1300 78 99 78.

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To listen to John's incredible podcast series, Mate Helping Mate, visit their website at https://www.matehelpingmate.org.au/

// Credits

Music: Matthew Wykniet

Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap

Website: www.facingitpodcast.com

#FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It, we’re so glad you’re here. 

In today’s episode we spoke with Inspector Stuart Mearns from the Western Australian Police Force. Stuart was instrumental in the delivery of the mental health co-response trial that finished in 2018. This trial was one of the first here in Australia where a mental health practitioner was sent to a call-out alongside police officers to mental health related situations.

Stu talks about us with the stigma associated with those experiencing mental ill-health and dealing with the police force, and how the co-response trial taught him personally so much about what mental ill-health looks, sounds and feels like. He speaks incredibly candidly about the things that the police force haven’t gotten right before and his passion to ensure mistakes can be learnt from, and the families and supporters of those impacted by mental ill-health related police callouts have an opportunity to be heard.

In this episode we discuss mental ill-health related distress, suicidal thoughts and behaviours and police violence. If you or someone you know needs help or further advice please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. Enjoy!

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For further information on the Mental Health Co-response please visit: https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/publications/tabledpapers.nsf/displaypaper/4011830c6f17958a776124a04825830d0003e135/$file/tp-1830.pdf

// Credits

Music: Matthew Wykniet

Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap

Website: www.facingitpodcast.com

#FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It! We're so glad you're here.

Today’s episode is with the contagiously joyful Stefanie Gerstenberg. Stef up until recently was working as the Crisis Support Supervisor at Lifeline Canberra after she started as a volunteer call taker in 2015.

Stef spoke candidly with us about how she had used the Lifeline service herself in her younger years, and when she found herself wanting to volunteer and give back to the community years later - Lifeline was an obvious choice. In this episode, Stef explains to us the day-to-day for Lifeline volunteers, what a person can expect when they call the service and also helped us bust some myths around what Lifeline does (or doesn’t do).

In this episode, we discuss suicidal thoughts and behaviours, and mental distress. If you or someone you know needs assistance or further advice please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

We just loved this chat with Stef, as two people who have called Lifeline ourselves in our own experiences - it was incredibly enlightening to hear about the volunteers, their experiences and the ins and outs of the service. We are passionate about demystifying the mental health system and hope that you can learn something new about accessing a service like Lifeline and how it may be able to help you or someone you love in the future.

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For further information on the Lifeline service please visit: https://www.lifeline.org.au/

// Credits

Music: Matthew Wykniet

Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap

Website: www.facingitpodcast.com

#FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It, we’re so glad you’re here!

On today’s episode we spoke with the brilliant Sally Craig. Sally lives in Canberra and works for a not-so-small technology company. Sally is also a mum to a beautiful young man, Nate. 

Sally spoke with us about her journey to motherhood, and how it was very different to the experience she had thought she might have. She shares with us her post-natal depression and anxiety story - from the first time she realised something wasn’t quite right, through to her experiences with support groups and others mums - and how all of that has informed the mum, wife, daughter and friend she is today.

Becoming a new mum is a completely different experience for every single person - as Sally mentions - no two babies or two parents are the same. Sal’s candour in speaking with us about the dark days is so informative, and if there is someone in your life who has recently become a mum or has felt the touch of post-natal mental ill-health we highly recommend a listen to what Sally has to say.

If you or someone you love needs help or further advice please contact PANDA on 1300 726 306 or Beyondblue on 1300 22 46 36.

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For further information on supporting someone who is a new mum or dad please visit: https://gidgetfoundation.org.au/get-support/

For further information on PANDA/PANSI please visit: https://www.panda.org.au/

// Credits

Music: Matthew Wykniet

Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap

Website: www.facingitpodcast.com

#FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It, we’re so glad you’re here. In this episode we spoke with Elliott Ranson. Elliott lives in Western Sydney with his wife and two young boys, and is passionate about encouraging people to speak out about how they are feeling.

In 2004, Elliott’s biological father took his own life. Elliott talks with us about this experience, how it impacted his life and the lives of those in his family. He talks about understanding his father’s experiences and how that has helped him process the trauma of his experience.

Elliott’s candour is incredible, and you’ll hear in his voice that this is something that has deeply impacted him - but also something that has driven his passion for living a life based on gratitude. His drive to help others and encourage positive mental health conversations is truly inspirational.

In this episode we discuss suicidal thoughts and behaviours, and bereavement. If you or someone you love needs some help or advice please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Callback Service on 1300 659 467.

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For further information on supporting someone who is experiencing suicidal thoughts or behaviours please visit You're Not Alone: https://www.sane.org/you-are-not-alone

For further information on suicidal thoughts go to: https://headtohealth.gov.au/mental-health-difficulties/other-difficulties/suicidal-thoughts

You can find Elliott's podcast here https://linktr.ee/elliottranson

// Credits

Music: Matthew Wykniet

Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap

Website: www.facingitpodcast.com

#FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing it. We’re so glad you’re here.

On today’s episode we had the amazing opportunity to speak to not one but two guests - we had Luke Foster and Matthew Wyatt-Smith join us for an incredible chat. Luke is a Mental Health Strategy Advisor and Facilitator for Livin, and Matt is the CEO of Australian Student Veterans Association.

Both Luke and Matt have experience within the Australian Defence force, having served and toured in their respective careers. Since leaving the defence force, both Luke and Matt have done incredible work in the ongoing support of veterans, and have a great passion for the mental health and wellbeing of those who have served our country.

It was amazing to witness their passion and willingness to talk about events that were no doubt challenging for them in their defence careers, and offer insights into the factors that impact the mental health and wellbeing of our returned servicemen and women.

In this episode we discuss suicidal thoughts and behaviours, trauma and armed force services. If you or someone you love need further advice or assistance please contact Open Arms on 1800 011 046.

We found it incredible to hear from these two about their experiences. They speak about how these experiences have shaped their lives during and following their time in the defence force. They also taught us so much about how we as a society can harness the experience and skills that a veteran has to offer. Enjoy!

**Language warning for this episode!**

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For further information on supporting those who have experienced Trauma visit the Head to Health page: https://headtohealth.gov.au/mental-health-difficulties/mental-health-conditions/trauma-and-stressor-related-disorders

Australian Student Veterans Association website

Livin website website

// Credits

Music: Matthew Wykniet

Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap

Website: www.facingitpodcast.com