I lived in relative silence and shame for many, many years. Too scared to open up and always worried about how others would perceive me.
I was first treated for depression and anxiety in my early 20’s, but it wasn’t until another 15 years later that I became more open and started to heal. It was good to know that I was feeling the way I did because of a medical reason. There was a reason, and there was hope.
In 2014 my family was spending Christmas in Mildura. We were walking to go out for dinner and my 6-year-old daughter stopped and asked “Dad, how long would it take to walk back home to Bannockburn?” I decided I would find her the answer by walking the 520kms myself. I did some planning and decided I wanted to raise money and awareness for mental health along the way.
After lots of research I decided to contact Black Dog Institute. I loved the work they did and knew I had to be part of it. They suggested I undergo some training and become a community presenter. We raised almost $15,000 along the way and always connected with the small communities we passed through and spoke about what we were doing and why. We started many conversations about mental health and On October 2, 2015 I was able to tell my daughter that it takes 13 days to walk from Mildura to Bannockburn.