An unexpected note from my high school friend

An unexpected note from my high school friend

I was originally going to post this on your comment thread about the anniversary of Chris' death, connected to the blog post but I ended-up writing way too much, so here it is:
I remember that day at school so vividly, when you weren't in our year 10 English class and Mr. Morris had to inform us of the tragic news - although, probably for the better at the time, we were told Chris dropped his phone and went searching for it in the dark. Everyone in class was completely stunned...

Read More

Speaking of mental health... (my first opinion piece)

Speaking of mental health... (my first opinion piece)

My older brother is dead. He killed himself last night. That was the abrupt reality I woke up to one morning 13 years ago to this day. I wasn’t to catch the bus to attend high school after breakfast or to passively exist in the Year 10 classes I had no interest in or ability to concentrate through. Once a star student with two scholarships in Year 7, I spent my subsequent high school years sleeping in sick bay or day dreaming in class; often about my own death. It was one of the few activities that made me feel happy during that time, one of the few that made me feel anything at all.

Read More

My yearly plenary to UNSW's medical students

My yearly plenary to UNSW's medical students

It takes on average somewhere between 10 and 20 years for someone with bipolar disorder to be correctly diagnosed. Not even to be treated. Just diagnosed. And that's the people who ever get diagnosed at all in their lifetime. Most don't. How many other medical conditions do we let slip that far particularly when we have tested, effective treatments readily available?

Educating doctors is crucial...

Read More

More talks in rural towns. This time in Coolah, NSW

More talks in rural towns. This time in Coolah, NSW

You'd think it would be hard to maintain a school-hall of teenagers' attention for an hour but you could hear a pin drop. It's the same every time no matter what their ages or where they are. That's how important and relevant mental health is to them. I always do an open Q&A session at the end of my talks and the students asked deeply considered questions about how to help each other. Truly Inspiring stuff. This is what motivates me to do it.

Read More