**Just a heads up, strong language warning for this episode** Welcome to Facing It, we’re so glad you’re here. In today’s episode we had the privilege of a chat with the formidable Kaitlin Mountain. Kaitlin is a disability support worker, a qualified chef and one of those people who it is truly a pleasure to be in their company. Kaitlin spoke with us about her experiences with mental ill-health from a very young age, recalling her first self-harming behaviour at the age of four years old. She let us in on some of the ways in which she manages each and every day with her mental health - one of these is the incredible, life-changing experience she had when receiving private mental health care. Kaitlin’s recount of her support crew and the tools she uses - including her application of the incredible spoon theory - left us both motivated to introduce some of these things in our everyday life. We hope you can take something away from her brilliant pearls of wisdom too. In this episode we speak about suicidal thoughts and behaviours and self-harm, if you or someone you know needs help or further advice please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.  Enjoy! // Credits Music and Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap Website: www.facingitpodcast.com #FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It, we're so glad you're here! Samuel here - continuing our slight deviation, this week I had the immense pleasure of interviewing my gorgeous co-host Hayley mother-flippin’ Venables. Hayley is a project manager by day, a mental health advocate and podcaster by night—and a loving mother and wife across and inbetween it all. Hayley shares with us her experiences as a child with anxiety, the way her mental ill-health shifted during her adolescent years, and how just when she learned the tools to manage her wellness, she had a beautiful baby girl who brought the experience of postpartum psychosis with her. Hayley is one of the most empathy-driven souls I know, and it gives me so much joy to call her my friend and co-host— she truly, in her words, is here to be “spreading the good shit”. Guys I can’t explain to you how much this episode fills my heart so full of gratitude for this awe-inspiring woman. Hayley will be the first to admit that she is not perfect, and that she falls short all the time. Which is exactly why I find her to be one of the most educational and inspirational people I know—her realness and vulnerability in the everyday is truly her super power. In this episode we discuss anxiety, depression, and postpartum psychosis. If you or someone you know needs help or advice please contact Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14 or PANDA  on 1300 726 306. // Links For more information on Peri-natal mental ill-health please visit https://www.panda.org.au/  If you need assistance with peri-natal mental health please check out Gidget Australia https://gidgetfoundation.org.au/ // Credits Music and Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap Website: www.facingitpodcast.com #FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It! We’re so glad you’re here.  Today’s episode is a little bit different. I had the immense pleasure of interviewing my brilliant co-host Samuel Hockey. Sam is an incredible force in the mental health world - he was the youngest ever appointed National Mental Health Commissioner, and continues almost 8 years later to champion the cause of lived experience and mental health advocacy. We spoke about Sam’s own lived experience with mental ill-health, his diagnoses and what he does each and every day both professionally and personally to manage his mental health and wellbeing. I know Sam very well, and there is never a conversation we have that I walk away from without learning something - I hope that you too can take away some of the gems of wisdom; whether that’s his insights into how we can influence politics or how self-stigma is a big task each and every day. In this episode we discuss suicidality, depression and anxiety - if you or someone you know needs help or further advice please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. Enjoy! Hayley x // Credits Music and Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap Website: www.facingitpodcast.com #FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It, we’re so glad you’re here!  Today’s episode is with the effervescent Bron Miller. Bron works in mental health advocacy, is a mum to a gorgeous young man and wife to an incredibly supportive husband. Bron also lives with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Bron was misdiagnosed at the age of 21 - where she was told she was experiencing Generalised Anxiety Disorder, and it wasn’t until seven years later she was diagnosed with OCD - meaning she had to re-evaluate her mental health and how she managed her symptoms and triggers. Bron was incredibly candid with us about the ups and downs of living with OCD, and how it presents in her life specifically. We had a great conversation with Bron about the trivialising of mental ill-health conditions such as OCD, and her perspective on how stigma is created through the misunderstanding and oversimplification of illnesses such as OCD. In this episode we speak about OCD and anxiety, if you or someone you know needs help or further advice please contact Beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.  Enjoy! // Links To learn more about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder visit:  https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety/types-of-anxiety/ocd https://headtohealth.gov.au/mental-health-difficulties/mental-health-conditions/obsessive-compulsive-and-related-disorders // Credits Music and Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap Website: www.facingitpodcast.com #FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It, we're so glad you're here! In today’s episode we had the pleasure of a chat with Alex Pettigrew. Alex lives in Sydney, works in childcare, and is studying for a new career in IT. Alex also lives with Bipolar 1 with psychotic features. Alex also talks how he is affected by the seasonal changes, in what he describes as the equinox effect. In chatting with us Alex spoke about his passion for reducing stigma around those who experience mental ill-health, from the pop culture references to those being ‘mentally ill’ as violent and the common misconceptions around management of mental ill-health experiences that are less well known. In this episode we discuss suicidal thoughts and behaviours, if you or someone you know needs further advice or assistance please contact LIfeline on 13 11 14 or SANE Australia on 1800 18 7263.  // Links To learn more about Bipolar Disorder visit https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/resources-support/bipolar-disorder/ // Credits Music and Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap Website: www.facingitpodcast.com #FacingItTogether

CW: Just a heads up, we talk about self-harm, suicidal thoughts and behaviours and transphobia in this episode. If this has created any distress for you please see below for resources and where you can access help. Welcome to Facing It, we’re so glad you’re here!  On today’s episode we had the pleasure of a chat with Alex Dalton. Alex is an incredible young man (yes, he’s 17!) from Victoria who is completing his final years of high school. Alex is also a passionate mental health advocate in both his local and global communities; telling his story in the hope of educating others and helping other young transgender people who come after him. In this episode we speak about Alex’s mental ill-health journey: starting at the incredibly young age of 11 when he first experienced self-loathing and negative self-talk, continuing through his early high school years and experiencing suicidality and into his plans for the future and how he is going to change the opportunities and experiences transgender youth have. Alex was so real and raw with us, talking about topics that are so often taboo or considered tricky - he was eloquent and articulate beyond his years. In this episode we talk about self-harm, suicidal thoughts and behaviours, and transphobia. If you or someone you love needs help or further advice please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or QLife on 1800 184 527. // Links To learn more about gender expression and mental health impacts visit https://headtohealth.gov.au/supporting-yourself/support-for/gender-expression // Credits Music and Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap Website: www.facingitpodcast.com #FacingItTogether

CW: Just a heads up - in this episode we speak about sexual assault, suicidal thoughts and behaviours. If these topics are distressing for you, please see below for resources and where you can go for further help and advice. Welcome to Facing It! We’re so glad you’re here.  In today’s episode we are bringing an inspirational chat with Bec Bawden - a formidable young woman from Adelaide. Bec spoke with us about facing adversity; reflecting on her primary school days and comments on her weight, her high school years and battling depression and the time after she left school when her peers were facing the world outside of school Bec was facing the next six months in hospital. This interview was a really special one. Disordered eating is something we are both familiar with, something that is widely misunderstood in relation to it’s connection with mental health and a topic that has great stigma attached to it. Bec was just phenomenal in sharing her story, breaking down that stigma and helping us understand how we can have better conversations about people’s physical and mental health together. In this episode we discuss anorexia, depression and suicidal ideation. If you or someone in your life needs help or further advice please contact the Butterfly Foundation on 1800 33 46 73 or Lifeline on 13 11 14. This episode of Facing It is brought to you by Riverina Bluebell, who are, like us, passionate about raising awareness of mental health by sharing stories and encouraging people to obtain help and support. For more information about the great work they do in the community and how you can support their cause please visit www.riverinabluebell.org.au or search for Riverina Bluebell on Facebook. // Links To learn more about eating disorders and support for loved ones please visit https://butterfly.org.au/ // Credits Music and Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap Website: www.facingitpodcast.com #FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It, we’re so glad you’re here.  Today’s episode is a real treat, we had the pleasure of a chat with Amanda Morton. Amanda is the founder of Courageous Ladies. With over 11 thousand followers on her instagram platform - Amanda’s messages of raw vulnerability, celebrating diversity and always ensuring there’s some hot pink thrown in have become a movement of their own. Amanda spoke with us today about the creation of Courageous Ladies, a safe place to be with her feelings when she couldn’t find one following the loss of her Dad to a rare type of leukaemia when she was 25. Grief is not an unfamiliar friend of Amanda’s - when she was 18 she lost her Mum to breast cancer. Amanda’s bravery, vulnerability and passion for ensuring no one feels alone in their journey whatever that may be is nothing short of awe-inspiring. The way she speaks with us about her strength in dark times, her passion to strive for better for all women and how she looks after her mental health each and every day left us both wanting to be better people, every day. In this episode we speak about grief and death, depression and anxiety. If you or someone you know needs help or further advice please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.  This episode of Facing It is brought to you by Riverina Bluebell, who are, like us, passionate about raising awareness of mental health by sharing stories and encouraging people to obtain help and support. For more information about the great work they do in the community and how you can support their cause please visit www.riverinabluebell.org.au or search for Riverina Bluebell on Facebook. // Links To see the brilliant courageous ladies community for yourself search for @courageousladies on instagram or visit www.courageousladies.com.au // Credits Music and Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap Website: www.facingitpodcast.com #FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It, we’re so glad you’re here. In today’s episode we had the opportunity to speak with beyondblue spokesperson and RUOK ambassador Megan Barrow. Megan is a marketing director by day, and a mental health crusader by night - having been involved in the advocacy space for close to a decade. Megan is a ray of sunshine in dark places, her magnetic enthusiasm and her ability to call it like it is was an absolute pleasure to witness. Megan shares with us her lifelong journey with anxiety; at its worst resulting in debilitating agoraphobia in her 20’s, those who were most influential in her life and her management of her anxiety, and how she manages her mental health on a daily basis. In this episode we discuss anxiety, suicidal thoughts and behaviours and agoraphobia. If you or someone you know needs help or further advice please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636. As two people who live with anxiety, we thought we knew a fair bit about it. Speaking with Megan we learnt SO much about anxiety and how it can manifest. Megan’s sense of humour and her pragmatism in describing what it’s like to live with anxiety for your entire life was as enlightening as it was vulnerable and hilarious all in one. Enjoy! This episode of Facing It is brought to you by Riverina Bluebell, who are, like us, passionate about raising awareness of mental health by sharing stories and encouraging people to obtain help and support. For more information about the great work they do in the community and how you can support their cause please visit www.riverinabluebell.org.au or search for Riverina Bluebell on Facebook. // Links To see Megan's work in the mental health advocacy space visit her Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/meganbarrow.anxietywarrior // Credits Music and Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap Website: www.facingitpodcast.com #FacingItTogether

Welcome to Facing It, we’re so glad you’re here! In today’s episode we are so thrilled to bring you a chat we had with the affable and inspiring John Harper. John is a retired wheat and sheep farmer and shearer from Stockinbingal in the Riverina region of south-west NSW. In John’s words he was ‘bitten by the black dog’ in his 40’s and after experiencing the benefit of the support of mates and community in his recovery, he has been working hard to improve the mental health outcomes for regional communities ever since. John has been an Australia Day ambassador representing his community and his work in mental health, he is a podcast host for a phenomenal series called Mate Helping Mate (linked below), and he is a passionate advocate for mental health in regional communities. He also is a very proud father and grandfather, and he has a contagious charm that makes you want to settle in for a cuppa. John shared with us his journey in mental ill-health; what it looked and felt like, how he found seeking support services, and what his loved ones did to support him in his recovery. He also talks in such a beautiful way about how the simple stuff really is the key to looking after ourselves and our loved ones. We wish that we had the video to show you of our interview with John, his analogies and his explanations of mental health support are so spot on it left us both speechless in awe of his work. In this episode we discuss depression and suicidal thoughts. If you or someone you know needs assistance or further advice please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Men’s Line on 1300 78 99 78. // Links To listen to John's incredible podcast series, Mate Helping Mate, visit their website at https://www.matehelpingmate.org.au/ // Credits Music: Matthew Wykniet Editing: Nocturnal Hub Cap Website: www.facingitpodcast.com #FacingItTogether