Suicide prevention charity ‘Talk2meBro’ hosted a mixed-gender session of ice baths and breathwork this weekend at North Wollongong Beach, aimed at promoting community conversation around men’s mental health.
On average, two men commit suicide every day in NSW, with 729 male suspected suicide deaths in 2024 out of almost 1000 total.
Co-founder of UOW’s ‘Recovery Camp’ Professor Lorna Moxham said a breakdown in the state’s mental health treatment system is to blame for the consistently high statistics.
“We’ve got a perfect storm – we’ve got more people with mental health conditions than we’ve ever had, less specialists in the area, and funding that has been lacking for decades,” Professor Moxham said.
“Given the absolute ongoing lack of funding for public mental health services, the non-government sector organisations like Talk2meBro have really stepped up and keep a lot of people out of hospital,” she said.
Source: Mental Health Commission of NSWBarney Pekin-Stores, 34, has been attending Talk2meBro’s Friday morning ‘Guys Catch-up’ for almost two years, and said they have helped him overcome the embarrassment of talking about his mental health.
“I think being around all these other dudes who have similar stories and similar struggles – it was kind of like exposure therapy. It becomes normal and you stop feeling embarrassed about it,” Mr. Pekin-Stores said.
“We live in a culture where men are discouraged to talk about this sort of thing. So many guys just bottle this dark sh*t up inside them and I think the really high men’s suicide rate is a good example of that,” he said.
Professor Moxham agreed, saying a growing appropriation of mental illness terms has not helped the situation.
“A diagnosis is a really complicated thing – people will say ‘Ah, I have anxiety’. Everyone has anxiety, but do you have an anxiety disorder?” Professor Moxham said.
“Let’s just stop blaming mental health for everything, because that increases the stigma,” she said.
