Reaching out with guidance

THE Bulletin is enormously proud to provide our readers with the first edition of the Mental Health Guide.

Free with this edition of the paper, we present 64 pages of inspirational stories and useful resources covering many different aspects of mental health and mental illness. The guide will go to all readers of the Bulletin, the Cairns Post and the Mackay Daily Mercury.

The inspiration behind the project came from a discussion over a coffee about two young men — one in Mackay and one in Cairns — who had tragically taken their own lives. Seeing such senseless loss got us thinking about what we could do, using the newspaper, to try to help those who are struggling. The power of sharing stories and experiences, we hope, will help anyone doing it tough to realise that they’re not alone.

Providing readers with a one-stopshop booklet that contains all the resources they need, we hope, will encourage people to reach out.

Statistically nearly all of us will be affected by mental illness at some point in our lives — whether it’s knowing someone who is unwell, going through a rough patch ourselves or fighting an ongoing battle against a powerful illness.

Yet, we’re still reluctant to talk about mental illness in the same way we would any other illness. We know staying mentally healthy is just as important as staying physically healthy, yet we still don’t give mental health anywhere near as much attention as we should.

To those brave people who shared their personal stories, we are so incredibly grateful to you.

Without the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network, the Townsville Hospital and Health Service and the Mackay Hospital and Health Service, this guide would never have been produced, and we are thankful for their support.

We hope this little book is just the start of a conversation and that, as a community, we can continue to open up the discussion about mental health and mental illness.