Depression a medical condition, JK says

John Kirwan says teaching children about depression will demystify the illness and help them spot the signs.

Kirwan, who played 96 matches for the All Black between 1984 and 1994, struggled with anxiety in his early years.

‘‘I had severe anxiety attacks and they would scare the shit out of me,’’ he said.

‘‘It wasn’t until l understood them that I learned I could control them and I could start getting better,’’ he said.

Kirwan spoke to 220 pupils about depression at Reporoa College on Tuesday.

‘‘We need to start teaching our kids about mental health,’’ he said.

‘‘When I drove around to pick my five-year-old son up in the car this one time, he said ’put your seatbelt on dad’, and started crying.

‘‘I asked, ‘why are you crying?’ and he said, ‘the policeman said today, if you don’t put your seatbelt, you could die’,’’ Kirwan said.

‘‘If we can teach kids this, we have to start doing the same with mental health. Then, when they’re growing up and experiencing things like anxiety, it’ll not be as scary.’’

Adults needed to learn more about it too, he said. ‘‘It’s an illness, not a weakness. ‘‘If we’re going to turn this around, there needs to be IQ and EQ [emotional intelligence] around it so we know what it is and we can talk about it,’’ he said.

Kirwan hosted a second presentation at the college after work for region’s adults.

‘‘We have a high suicide rate in rural areas,’’ he said.

‘‘One of the biggest issues with the farming community is that they’re naturally introverted.

‘‘When they get put under pressure, they work harder.’’

He said he hoped families would talk more about mental health after seeing or hearing his story.

‘‘I take [attendees] on my journey with mental health and normalise it for them, so if anyone present is suffering or someone they know is, they have the courage to reach out,’’ he said.

‘‘If we can talk about it around the dinner table, we’re halfway there.’’

Kirwan said anybody could help their friends or family member with depression.

‘‘If someone does reach out to you, you don’t have to be an expert on it – just help those people to get on a journey to get help.’’ WHERE TO GET HELP * Rural Support Trust: 0800 787 254 * Lifeline: 0800 543 354 * Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 (open 24/7)