Are you OK ?

[Oldman]

From my training as a Mental Health First Aid Officer
PR

I’ve done the same course a couple of times over the years.
I never thought I could remember the ALGEE acronym…….but I did.
Mental Health First Aid and MHFA for young adults.
Well worthwhile if people want to be better equipped to assist struggling folks….

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Onya Mark for bringing this up.

As some of you know we lost someone dear to us 12 mths ago, its been devastating but more so for his young mates.
We thought we had him through but not so.

How do you assist someone in a dark place, what do you do, how can you help?

Radio personality Gus Worland is very passionate about mental health & founder of Gotchya4life foundation, take a minute & check out the website.
Doesn't need to be awkward, just letting someone know you've got their back could make a difference.

https://www.gotcha4life.org

Tony

Hey Tony, hope your days are getting better…….you have been through Hell and back.

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Thanks for posting Mark. I wish you all the best in your support of your friend. And please don't forget to look after yourself and get support if needed. Or even if you don't feel like you need it, it's worth just talking to a professional so the issue doesn't build up unexpectedly in the background. Providing support can be a very big burden for one person too!

And yes, this is a massive issue in the community. I hope you don't mind if I add some links here. I don't want to take away from your friends issue, but as you'll see below and from the comments above we're all touched by this at times (or kicked in the guts as the case may be).

For those on the Central Coast, Sydney, Newcastle (or anywhere if you like), here's a suicide prevention charity I'm heavily involved with that provides a lot of education:

Link to Iris Foundation

And there's also this, which is a project of the Iris Foundation which was established for our dear friend, Debbie Gaunt, whose beautiful soul left us far too soon:

Debbie Gaunt foundation

Argh! Here I am tearing up again. Miss you Deb <3

Also, my wife Sharyn is the brain child of this Iris Foundation project which supports domestic violence victims, prison release, homeless, disadvantaged, etc in building confidence, resilience, connections and assisting re-entry to workforce, court appearances and the like. The idea is hopefully early intervention when people are at perhaps the lowest points of their life to keep that black dog away. There is no current government funding for this; all the money comes from a lot of hard work. Sharyn would love your support too:

Because We Care Boutique

Many thanks for chiming in Chris…..every and any bit of support information is worth knowing about.
I’m fine, now…..thanks for asking mate   After I hit rock bottom I accepted that I needed unbiased, professional help. Just making that step to accept that I had lost control was a massive thing for me to deal with…..and I’m sure others will relate. The more we talk about this, the more aware we become that many people  around us are also affected……
A huge thank you to Sharyn and yourself for unselfishly giving your time to help others in troubled times.