Overcoming a mental health illness is never easy.
It’s not a black-and-white solution and is often misunderstood by those who have not experienced it.
Wunghnu resident Julie Freestone knows these struggles all too well.
She’s seen friends and family members struggle with their mental health; she’s struggled with hers too, but one person in her life hits her the hardest.
“I have a daughter who was diagnosed and hospitalised with a mental illness 10 years ago,” Ms Freeestone said.
“When my daughter is becoming very unwell, that impacts on my mental wellbeing too.
“Things from the past that I’ve put away resurface again.
“I have days where I think, how am I going to get through this again?”
Ms Freestone finds these thoughts and feelings challenging to deal with at times.
But it can become even more challenging when she has to deal with insensitive comments about mental health.
Aside from being hurtful to hear, she says it can be dangerous in the ears of someone struggling to open up.
“I have all these outside people that have said things to me, uneducated things to me about my daughter, and I think I’m trying to do the best I can, and I don’t need anyone giving me unwanted and uneducated advice,” she said.
“By placing a stigma on it, someone might make a comment about a mental health illness in front of someone struggling, and they don’t know what that person is going through, and by making that uneducated comment, they are stopping that person from reaching out for help.
“No matter what diagnosis or mental illness they have, we are all individuals, and we need to look at the person they are first and foremost – they are not their diagnosis.”
Ms Freestone’s experience has encouraged her to speak up about mental health to de-stigmatise the topic by participating in the Black Dog Institute’s One Foot Forward challenge for Mental Health Month this October.
One Foot Forward is an annual challenge where people around Australia walk to raise money and awareness for mental health for the month of October.
Ms Freestone can often be found walking laps around the Wunghnu Recreational Reserve oval, getting her steps up.
As of Monday, October 23, Ms Freestone has walked 215km, averaging nearly 9km a day.
“I started walking every day before I started the challenge,” she said.
“Just the other day, I did 10 laps, and every lap I did represented a year since my daughter was first admitted to hospital and got her diagnosis, and every lap represents roughly how many lives are lost to suicide in Australia per day.”
According to the Black Dog Institute, nine Australians die by suicide every day.
That’s more than double the road toll.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data from the 2020-2021 census indicates that an estimated 8.6 million Australians aged 18-85 have experienced a mental disorder at some point in their life.
That’s just under half the population.
Looking after yourself by having conversations with others and recognising when you need help is something Ms Freestone is familiar with, and she encourages others to do the same.
“I know the importance for myself to reach out for help when I need it, and there’s no shame in saying I’m struggling, I need help,” she said.
“We do need to open up those important conversations as much as possible even if it impacts one person’s life because it’s one conversation that makes one person realise that they’re not alone and there’s nothing to be ashamed of.
“There’s a quote I always go back to: one cannot pour from an empty cup.”
Ms Freestone will be walking throughout the rest of October.
To donate towards her One Foot Forward challenge, visit her page at https://tinyurl.com/ypj5bsak
• If you or anyone you know requires crisis support, contact Accessline on 1800 800 944, Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14, BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.