Hey everyone, welcome back to Let’s Talk the Untalked for 2022. I know we’ve been a bit MIA over the past couple of months but after finishing school and winding down from the full on year 2021 was, we decided to take a wee break. We are finally back and are super excited to bring you an episode featuring Ronnie this week. Ronnie moved over to New Zealand without his parents in 2019 to finish off his last few years at high school while playing cricket.

Ronnie shares an insight into the struggles he faced moving countries, away from friends and families at such a young age. We chatted about his experiences and observations around mental health, thoughts on counselling and reaching out for support, the pressures around boys and sports and key pieces of advice he has learnt on the way. He has always been a huge supporter of the podcast and this was a long time coming so we can’t wait for everyone to hear Ronnie’s story.

After listening to this episode one of the most important takeaways we took from this is the importance of supporting those around you and always being compassionate and kind as you never know was someone is really going through. 

His favourite quote is, “yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, live in the moment”.

TW:// this episode mentions the topics of depression, suicide, eating disorders and self-harm

Today's episode on, ‘Let’s Talk the Untalked’ features @Georgeglover. George has completed super sized swims, run cricket marathons and has organised many more events to fundraise money for I AM HOPE a registered charity under the Key To Life Charitable Trust, founded by Mike King. He is all about bringing people together for a common cause of helping others. George shares with us his journey in completing these events and mental health generally in society.

His favourite quote is, “The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” This embodies how George views life in taking every opportunity to help others.

Tomorrow’s new episode on, “Let’s Talk The Untalked” will feature Meg from @megswellness. Meg’s platform is focused around health and well-being and her take on health, fitness and foods. She shares her story of the struggles she has faced with her diagnosis of PMDD, premenstrual dysphoric disorder and the heavy medication required to complete daily tasks. This caused her symptoms of depression, fatigue, anxiety and low energy during her prime teenage years. Meg also discusses her passion for nourishing foods, maintaining balance in life and how this all motivated her to study psychology and human performance. 

Her favourite quote is, “Once you realise that life isn’t supposed to be easy and you learn how to overcome the tough times, you’ll learn to appreciate the smaller things and ride the waves of life.” This summarises the importance of resilience in Meg’s life and how she has overcome a lot of struggles to be at the point she is at today.

Go check out her platform and give this amazing episode a listen tomorrow on release!!

This week we have @jakebaiiley coming on to talk with us on ‘Let’s Talk The Untalked.’ Jake Bailey is a full-time public speaker and a passionate educator on the power of resilience. 

Jake first caused a global sensation in 2015, when his speech as Head Boy at Christchurch Boys High School’s prize-giving ceremony went viral. A week before he was due to deliver this speech, Jake was diagnosed with Burkitt’s non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, the most aggressive cancer known to man. Given two weeks to live if this was left untreated, Jake persevered through to make his speech from a wheelchair, the video of which went on to touch the hearts of tens of millions and draw support and praise from across the globe. We absolutely loved talking to Jake, there are so many take aways from this episode so we recommend you give it a listen! Jakes favourite quote is.. “so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” It’s a quote from Theodore Roosevelt from a speech called Citizenship in a Republic.

This week’s episode welcomes Alyce Lysaght on, ‘Let’s Talk the Untalked’. She has her own podcast called, ‘Māori in Engineering’ showcasing inspiring Māori in the engineering world. On this episode she speaks about embracing her Māori heritage and culture, the celebrations of Māori language week and the impact her journey has had on her well-being. Alyce has had a massive self-exploration journey and has highlighted in this the expedition to finding her why. Knowing her why and what she values has played an important role in how she lives and what she chooses to do in life. 

Her favourite quote is, “If you can do anything in this world, try to leave a place better than you found it.” This is her mantra and in the sense that she tries to improve places she has been in her journey of growth.

TW:// this episode mentions the topics of eating disorders and depression which may be upsetting to some listeners.

This week on the podcast we chat with Kenz from @wellwithkenzz . Kenz is studying in Wellington and has her own wellness platform sharing her story and facilitating open conversations and thoughts around mental health. Having her own podcast @smalljoyspodcastshe knows the importance of sharing stories to make others feel less alone. Kenz explains her journey navigating high school and University battling with mental health issues. She highlights the importance of everyone having their own individual journey to recovering, whether that be through medication or therapy, and that it’s okay for things to not help at first. With messages for everyone including the normalisation of therapists for anyone, prioritising yourself and how you can help others to reach out for help.

Her favourite quote is, “Remember, nobody’s feelings are more important than your own so take time to love yourself”. This quote really nicely represents the importance that it is not selfish to prioritise yourself and your needs, especially on the road to recovery. 

We are so happy to be back into some, ‘normality’. Take care and don’t be hard on yourself while easing back into it. This week’s episode features Sophia Harrison and Ella Lamont. These two students at Victoria University in Wellington created an online tool to try to gauge the extent of the dangers that young women face. They have always been passionate about real-life important issues we face as a society and decided to take a stand and make a change. Their survey results came back with some statistics such as 79 percent of respondents had been sexually assaulted. This issue of harassment affects all genders especially young people. We loved discussing sexual violence, mental health, why it’s important to speak out about your opinions and advice for high schoolers with them. These two laid it out with no sugar coating on why these issues aren’t talked about enough and why they should be. 

Their favourite quote is, “Life is f**king absurd, so just be what you want to be, and be it unapologetically”. This quotes sums perfectly their non-sugar-coated answers to our questions and we think this is more of what we need in life, especially in regards to the stigma around mental health. 

TW:// this episode mentions the topics of sexual violence and mental health issues

TW:// this episode mentions the topics of depression and eating habits.

Hopefully one of our last lockdown editions includes this weeks guest Jem Vaughan on, ‘Let’s Talk the Untalked’. Although studying and living in Auckland she comes at us over zoom from CHCH with her family. She shares with us her mental health journey, what happiness means to her and how to be happy within yourself as well as highlighting when being a supportive friend that it’s as simple as just reassuring someone you are always there for them. We want to thank Jem for being so vulnerable with us and appreciate all of the pieces of advice she shared with us. She is such an inspiring role model and wholesome human. 

Jem’s favourite quote is, “I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side”. We love this quote of hers because it summaries the ideas of self-happiness and standing on your own, that Jem talks about on this episode.