Mate Helping Mate

Recovery can be a lonely journey, so let's do it together.

Round two of our panel-audience format of the Mate Helping Mate podcast! This time we hit the road to chat to the folks of the Tooma NSW community. Local folks, Sharon, Macca and Ian joined John on the couch up the front, along with an audience willing to share their lived experience. The stories and the emotions shared at Brigham House, highlight the resilience necessary for positive recovery.In this episode, there is an emphasis on the importance of community and mateship when recovering from a setback. The tragedy and trauma of the bushfires saw properties left bare, houses lost and wellbeing and livelihoods put to the test. We hear from those who continue to cope with trauma in the aftermath of these events; reflecting on the way a collective community resilience was bolstered through mateship and community connections.

A big shout out to John Harper for putting his heart and soul into this important work and getting us on the road. Thank you again to The Department of Primary Industries and their Farm Business Resilience Program who have gotten behind the podcast.

We are stoked to bring you this episode and look forward to hearing your thoughts!

****The advice in this podcast is of a general nature, and not an excuse for not seeing your GP or medical professional. There’s some handy links over at the Mate helping Mate website to learn more about resources you can access. If you need to talk to someone right now give Lifeline a call on 13 11 14.

This episode of Mate Helping Mate features some solo wisdom from John about mental wellbeing resilience. Following on from ‘Preparedness’, we bring you the second episode of ‘Rough But Ready’. Once we have laid the foundations for resilience, how do we keep it up in the long term?

John looks at the ability to action what you have prepared, how to know when to use it and how to apply it. It is something that we need to keep practicing and nurturing. And in building our resilience, it positively impacts us and helps us be in a better position to support those around us too.

This episode of Mate Helping Mate features some solo wisdom from John about preparedness to weather poor mental health. It’s one half of a two-episode special we’ve called ‘Rough But Ready’. Preparedness is being proactive with positive strategies for whatever life throws at us. Like preparing for a storm, it’s important to have some plans in place for when poor mental health strikes us. 

Being prepared with options can reduce fear, anxiety, and losses that accompany mental health crises. Preparedness is important in achieving goals and avoiding negative outcomes. It is important to have an understanding that mental wellbeing is cyclic. That is, anytime you cease being proactive you stop; we cease moving forward to a better and brighter future. Like riding a bike we fall over or fall off. 

Continually practising your mental health preparedness bolsters self-confidence, builds self-worth and so is the foundation for resilience. Have a listen, maybe you’ll be able to add a few tidbits to your toolbox and so strengthen your resilience. John maybe a little rough but at least we will be ready for any setback life may dish up.

Having a strong family unit, living in a compassionate caring community from which there are individuals you can confide in, is a huge positive factor in preventing poor mental health. It could be team harmony at work and the chats at smoko you look forward to each day. It may be your neighbour across the road who comes over for a cuppa and a handful of laughs. Whatever your community or team looks like, you are part of it for a reason, to have a yarn, to enjoy a laugh and to be there for each other when the going gets tough. Today we have a few people who acknowledge how community; a sense of belonging, keeps them going through the highs and lows of life.

****The advice in this podcast is of a general nature, and not an excuse for not seeing your GP or medical professional. There’s some handy links over at the Mate helping Mate website to learn more about resources you can access. If you need to talk to someone right now give Lifeline a call on 13 11 14.

We’re bloody grateful for all the support we’ve received to make this podcast possible, including the show’s sponsors the The Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) and their ‘Empowering our communities’ grant which is the federal government's way of walking the talk; demonstrating their commitment to supporting families and communities living with the impacts of natural disasters. The program aims to support suicide prevention and encourage rural communities to seek out mental health support.

This podcast is also brought to you by the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Through resilience building activities, they support primary producers experiencing natural disasters.

This podcast is by Room3, a production company that work with charities and for-purpose businesses.

Finally, you can keep in touch with John Harper and Mate helping Mate over at matehelpingmate.com.au

Life challenges knocking you down time and time again can drain your willingness, your resilience in getting back up and keep trudging on. Losing your optimism, having pessimism overrun your life, believing you can’t go on, is a bastard of a place to be, nobody wants to be there, believe me. The terrain may be rocky and treacherous at times, but a smoother path forward is never out of reach and isn’t something you have to find on your own. In this episode I speak with people who have run a ‘life’ cross country challenge about how they built and continue to find the resilience to keep going.

****The advice in this podcast is of a general nature, and not an excuse for not seeing your GP or medical professional. There’s some handy links over at the Mate helping Mate website to learn more about resources you can access. If you need to talk to someone right now give Lifeline a call on 13 11 14.

We’re bloody grateful for all the support we’ve received to make this podcast possible, including the show’s sponsors the The Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) and their ‘Empowering our communities’ grant which is the federal government's way of walking the talk; demonstrating their commitment to supporting families and communities living with the impacts of natural disasters. The program aims to support suicide prevention and encourage rural communities to seek out mental health support.

This podcast is also brought to you by the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Through resilience building activities, they support primary producers experiencing natural disasters.

This podcast is by Room3, a production company that work with charities and for-purpose businesses.

Finally, you can keep in touch with John Harper and Mate helping Mate over at matehelpingmate.com.au

Our body is like a vehicle, it gets us from point A to B. The brain is an important part of that vehicle and requires maintenance, work and exercise. Like anything without maintenance our brain, and so our thinking, can become a bit worse for wear at times. In hindsight we may look back and wonder why the hell we didn’t take better care of our brain and maintain our mental wellbeing. Check in with yourself, maintain yourself, if you’re feeling low, feeling flat look at what’s going on in your life that might be kicking you down. Reflect on past maintenance. What strategies you used to get through rough times, what was within your control? You’ll hear from some ruffnut ‘mechanics’ and the tricks they use to keep the cogs of the brain turning so they get through rough times.

****The advice in this podcast is of a general nature, and not an excuse for not seeing your GP or medical professional. There’s some handy links over at the Mate helping Mate website to learn more about resources you can access. If you need to talk to someone right now give Lifeline a call on 13 11 14.

We’re bloody grateful for all the support we’ve received to make this podcast possible, including the show’s sponsors the The Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) and their ‘Empowering our communities’ grant which is the federal government's way of walking the talk; demonstrating their commitment to supporting families and communities living with the impacts of natural disasters. The program aims to support suicide prevention and encourage rural communities to seek out mental health support.

This podcast is also brought to you by the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Through resilience building activities, they support primary producers experiencing natural disasters.

This podcast is by Room3, a production company that work with charities and for-purpose businesses.

Finally, you can keep in touch with John Harper and Mate Helping Mate over at matehelpingmate.com.au

Even though we know that a problem shared is a problem halved, the idea of opening up might scare us shitless. Once you’ve acknowledged you have a problem, the next step is addressing it, telling someone about it and opening up. Simple eh! But bloody hard to do. By finding a person or a place where you feel that you can open up a bit, we tend to find others who have walked the walk, had similar troubles and with whom we can relate to. In this episode you’ll hear from people just like you, who took this step, opened up and have moved positively forward with their lives. They are opening up to you.



****The advice in this podcast is of a general nature, and not an excuse for not seeing your GP or medical professional. There’s some handy links over at the Mate helping Mate website to learn more about resources you can access. If you need to talk to someone right now give Lifeline a call on 13 11 14.

We’re bloody grateful for all the support we’ve received to make this podcast possible, including the show’s sponsors the The Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) and their ‘Empowering our communities’ grant which is the federal government's way of walking the talk; demonstrating their commitment to supporting families and communities living with the impacts of natural disasters. The program aims to support suicide prevention and encourage rural communities to seek out mental health support.

This podcast is also brought to you by the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Through resilience building activities, they support primary producers experiencing natural disasters.

This podcast is by Room3, a production company that work with charities and for-purpose businesses.

Finally, you can keep in touch with John Harper and Mate Helping Mate over at matehelpingmate.com.au

Anxiety, depression and other mental health buggers (issues) like them, can take a long time to really understand, but just recognising that they are there is the first step in the important process of learning how to cope and deal with them. To fix or address any problem, not just mental wellbeing problems, the first step is to acknowledge that there is a problem. This can be bloody difficult whether or not you may have been here several times before or you’ve never been bit before. The jokers on today’s episode offer, from their own pockets, their two cents on what signs to look out for.

****The advice in this podcast is of a general nature, and not an excuse for not seeing your GP or medical professional. There’s some handy links over at the Mate helping Mate website to learn more about resources you can access. If you need to talk to someone right now give Lifeline a call on 13 11 14.

We’re bloody grateful for all the support we’ve received to make this podcast possible, including the show’s sponsors the The Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) and their ‘Empowering our communities’ grant which is the federal government's way of walking the talk; demonstrating their commitment to supporting families and communities living with the impacts of natural disasters. The program aims to support suicide prevention and encourage rural communities to seek out mental health support.

This podcast is also brought to you by the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Through resilience building activities, they support primary producers experiencing natural disasters.

This podcast is by Room3, a production company that work with charities and for-purpose businesses.

Finally, you can keep in touch with John Harper and Mate helping Mate over at:

matehelpingmate.com.au

From a property outside of Broken Hill, Kars Station, we hear from Brendan Cullen, a farmer who realised that talking to himself as a coping mechanism, was not sustainable. Attributing the roots of it particularly to drought and losing his family property, depression was with Brendan for a long time before he was diagnosed. He shares what’s inside his mental health tool box to get him through the tough times and also shares the news of a huge challenge he set himself!

Ag teacher and young sportsman Ben Brookes chats with us about his role in the Rugby team after tragically losing a great mate and great player. He’s got some wisdom to share with us about the strategies he used in keeping the team on track. And also how he identifies when he's struggling and what he does about it!

A problem shared is a problem halved. How do you find the right people to help improve your mental wellbeing when you need it? John chats with Chris McGregor, whose brother died by suicide and has experienced his own struggles with the black dog, and counsellor David Post, who shares some handy tips about finding a great support team that works for you.

*Note: This episode deals with themes of suicide and some listeners might find this upsetting. We’re grateful for Chris and his gutsy effort to share his story and make this episode as special as it is – thanks Chris.

****The advice in this podcast is of a general nature, and not an excuse for not seeing your GP or medical professional. There’s some handy links over at the Mate helping Mate website to learn more about resources you can access. If you need to talk to someone right now give Lifeline a call on 13 11 14.

We’re bloody grateful for all the support we’ve received to make this podcast possible, including the show’s sponsors, our mates Gotcha4 Life and the Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN).Gotcha4Life was established to reverse the tide of declining mental health and to reduce suicide rates by taking action and having a positive outcome on men’s mental health. It enables men, boys and communities to build mental fitness, social connection, emotional muscle and resilience.

The Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN), through the Empower Our Communities Grant, is the government’s way of walking the talk and demonstrating their commitment to supporting families and communities living with the impacts of drought, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing.You can connect with David Post and the great work of Rural Outreach Counselling – ROC for short – over at their website. You can also learn more about Riverina Bluebell here.

This podcast is by Room3, a production company that work with charities and for-purpose businesses. 

Finally, you can keep in touch with John Harper and Mate helping Mate over at:

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