Vital to talk about mental health
TWO Queenstown residents with recent experience of mental health trauma say the community must overcome the stigma of talking about the subject and barriers to treatment need to be removed.
Speaking to more than 100 people at the Wakatipu Mental Health Forum in the resort last night, Anna Dow said people had to feel able to talk about their struggles in the same way diseases such as diabetes and cancer were talked about.
The mother of two, whose husband, Craig, died in July in a suspected suicide, said she had many questions about his decision on the day he died that she would never get answers to.
However, she was sure he could not talk about his feelings because society had conditioned him all his life that mental illness was something to be ashamed of.
Mrs Dow said mental health services needed to be simple and well laidout. Cost, time and location should never be barriers to accessing them.
Instead of needing to be proactive to get support, people should be able to expect mental health services to be ‘‘wrapped around them’’.
Jason Medina, who completed 100 Canyon Swings in a day in September to fundraise for St John and raise awareness of mental health issues, said his addictions and selfdestructive behaviour had caused him to lose jobs and relationships, and culminated in an attempt to take his own life 18 months ago.
Mr Medina said he came close to pulling out of his fundraising project because he knew he would have to talk publicly about his suicide attempt.
However, doing so had turned out to be ‘‘one of the most liberating things I’ve ever done’’.
Following the speeches, the audience were asked to brainstorm, in groups, a prioritised list of ideas for how they wanted to see mental health services reshaped in the region.
One of the event’s organisers, former Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden, said the ideas would be presented in a report to the Southern District Health Board, Queenstown Lakes District Council and social service providers.