How sharing my story helps others

Russell is a paramedic, son, a big brother, an uncle, and a sufferer of mental illness. He’s also the voice behind ‘The adventures of an anxious mind’ a blog exploring everyday life, while living with Anxiety and Depression: https://theadventuresofananxiousmind.wordpress.com/

“I was officially diagnosed with Anxiety and Depression in August 2017. To try and make sense of what I was going through I decided to document my journey and tell my story through a blog. It’s a pretty raw and honest blog, that I was initially nervous about sharing with family and friends – I guess I was worried about the stigma attached to mental illness. Thankfully their response was welcoming and it helped them understand what I was going through and how I was feeling. It really deepened the conversations they were having with me and helped them provide the support that I needed. But my blog has done more than help me, it’s helped others too.

Helping others:

“I was having a chat about my blog with a colleague who mentioned a friend of hers was going through something similar. She wanted to be a good friend, provide support and link them in with professional support. She asked if would It be OK to share my blog as it might help her friend feel comfortable taking that next step in seeking help. I agreed and provided the link to the blog, as well as the contact numbers for a few places which I thought might be useful for her friend. About a week later I got a phone call from a reader of the blog. The call was from a young male, the friend of my work colleague, who was feeling suicidal. He explained how each day was an internal struggle and how he didn’t know how to ask for help. The guy explained how he wasn’t able to answer people when he was asked if he was OK, because he knew he wasn’t but he didn’t know why or how to explain this. He told me while reading my blog that he could relate to my experiences, and that I had given him the courage and ideas for where to seek help. The guy thanked me again, and told me that if it wasn’t for the blog and me sharing my own story he doesn’t know where he would be today. He’s asked me to keep on writing and sharing my experiences as this helps him and others struggling with a mental illness and it’s something I intend to do.

“What I want to impress on people though is the role of the friend in this story – the one who reached out to me. She identified that her friend was struggling, wanted to support them and found a way to encourage action by using someone else’s words. I think it’s so important that her friend had opened up to her in the first place, that she took it seriously but she also knew her limitations when it came to providing the support he needed. She took it upon herself to educate herself and connect her friend with a resource that could help. And that’s why today he’s in a much better place.

My advice:

“I think it’s important we share these stories, start these conversations and provide advice to both the person going through a tough time and those supporting them. And a great place to start is with the R U OK? website: www.ruok.org.au ”

R U OK? promote four steps to a conversation with someone you’re worried about: Ask, Listen, Encourage action and Check in. Find conversation tips here: www.ruok.org.au/how-to-ask

If you or a loved one need immediate support, Lifeline provide free 24/7 telephone crisis support on 13 11 14. Other supports can be found at www.ruok.org.au/findhelp