Stef shuts up - 8th year!

Hey, I'm Stef

On World Mental Health Day for the past 7 years I have been personally challenging myself to keep completely quiet for 24 hours. Well 10 October is coming up fast, so I’m at it again – keeping silent to raise the volume on mental health!

The ill-effects of mental health and suicide are far-reaching. Suicide remains the leading cause of death for Australians aged between 15 and 44. For every death by suicide, it is estimated that as many as 30 people attempt to end their lives. That is approximately 65,300 suicide attempts each year.

Suicide has torn my family apart more than once, with my father’s suicide in 2002, and my younger sisters suicide in 2012. My mother suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and I battle depression daily.

In memory of my sister, and to support teenagers and young adults going through what I went through, I will be completing this challenge to raise money for headspace. Headspace provides an irreplaceable service to young adults in need. Suicide, anxiety, depression – the rates of all mental health issues that affect our population can be reduced if we intervene early and provide the right tools for resilience to our young adults.

Over the last 7 years I’ve raised $20,364 for headspace, more than I could have ever imagined that first year. Anything and everything you donate will be absolutely appreciated. You can come and see me to drop off cash, or use your credit card on this fundraising page.

I always work on the big silent day (surprisingly it’s pretty easy), so if you’re in John Gorton Building, feel free to drop by and see my terrible miming. Last year’s highlight was definitely the World Mental Health Day markets at work, where I manned the knitting club stand, and tried (very unsuccessfully) to convey to people that we meet every Wednesday to stitch between 12.30-1.30pm, and showed off the clubs various knitting, quilting, crocheting and cross-stitching projects!

Over the years I’ve learnt that this is a fun, light-hearted challenge. But it is rooted in truth. The hardest part of the day is going home, and feeling so lonely. Not being able to talk to my pets. That is the truth – mental illness makes us feel alone. But it doesn’t have to be that way – there is always someone to talk to. Headspace, lifeline, beyondblue, black dog, kids helpline, your GP, counsellors, friends, colleagues, family, strangers, me! Don’t be afraid to start a conversation.

Thanks so much to you all for your continued support. It means the world.

Stef

If you want to read any more about my “story” - here's one I wrote for beyondblue. It's quite outdated now, but it definitely conveys my heart and soul as at May 2013.

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/who-does-it-affect/personal-stories/story/stefanie

And this is a piece I wrote for headspace in October 2017.

https://headspace.org.au/blog/stef-shuts-up-for-headspace/