Walking in the shoes of people struggling with mental health is the aim of challenge

Michael Birrell has lost a mate to suicide and is now looking to do something to take the burden away from people confronting mental health issues. The Ulladulla resident is a member of a Lift the Load Challenge team which is raising awareness and money for the Top Blokes Foundation.Hospitalisation due to self-harm among kids has trebled in 10 years, Queensland’s health chief says.

The Lift the Load Challenge asks participants “to walk in the shoes of those struggling with poor mental health, by symbolically and literally carrying that weight”. The challenge is to wear a 10kg weighted vest for 50km or more throughout October’s Mental Health Month, while raising funds and awareness for the foundation. Participants like Michael can walk, ride a bike or run.

“It was starting to hurt – I could feel the burn and the extra weight,” he said about a recent session on his push bike while wearing the vest.”I started thinking about how people with mental health look at it and keep on going every day carrying this extra burden over and over again.”

Michael by speaking to the Milton Ulladulla Times hopes to raise awareness when it comes to mental health issues and help get Top Blokes Foundation and The Lift the Load Challenge more support.

Go here to donate and find out more.

You can make a donation to Michael or to the team – there are several options. He ended up with two vests and his wife Laura will do some walks with him. Michael has had family members with mental health issues and it quickly becomes apparent he is not afraid to talk about these issues.

A call he did not want to get

Hearing that a mate had taken his own life is something Michael vividly remembers. Another mate, early this year, called him to tell him what had happened. Their mutual friend was playing with his children one minute, then got up, left, went missing and took his own life.

“Nobody knew and nobody saw it coming,” Michael said about the mental anguish his mate was suffering.

“That is the point of the vest – you don’t know what burdens people are carrying. The symbolism of the 10-kilograms we are carting shows what they [people with mental health issues] cart around inside themselves every day,” he said.

When he was growing up one of the senior blokes in his rugby union team also took his own life. He got involved in The Lift the Load Challenge via his masters rugby league links – he plays for a number of teams, when needed, including the Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs, Canberra-based Valley Dragons and Queanbeyan Roos. One of his master rugby league mates was the bloke who called to tell him about their mutual friend who committed suicide. They then formed the team and have not looked back.

If you or anyone you know needs help:

Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467

Lifeline on 13 11 14

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN on 13 92 76

Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.

What the foundation does with the money

Michael said $500 would pay to help a person get the support they need to “offload their mental health burden”. Support workers are engaged by the Top Blokes Foundation to help people and the organisation does group therapy as well. The Top Blokes Foundation is a leading youth mental health charity and is dedicated to empowering young males aged 10-24 years-of-age to become “their best selves”.

They challenge and nurture people to stand tall, speak confidently, and find their sense of belonging, no matter their background or where they live. The foundation’s qualified and experienced youth workers engage with boys and young men in schools and local communities. Through the foundation’s mentoring programs, young men gain the skills and safe spaces needed to foster empathy, resilience, and overall well-being. The group’s motto is – “together we can create a brighter, healthier future”.

The importance of reaching out for help or talking about the subject

Michael says even today there is still a stigma attached to both having a mental health condition and being prepared to talk about it. Since the start of the year, Michael has been talking about mental health with his mates a lot more and since talking on the walk has been posting videos on social media about the challenge. While he does not have a mental health condition, Michael still experiences a “lessening of the weight” because he is talking to someone about the issue. He even linked with a group of like-minded people on the weekend and joined the Ulladulla Walk ‘n’ Talk group.

Michael said it was not a sign of weakness to put up our hand and ask for help. “Those people who are shutting you down [when you want to talk about mental health issues] are possibly struggling themselves, but they are the ones who need to talk,” he said.”Let me lighten the load and carry some of it for you,” Michael said and pretty much summed up the Lift the Load Challenge at the same time.

“A lot of people in the world don’t believe that mental health exists because they don’t understand it and I think that is a barrier we need to cross – helping people understand what mental health is.”He said the suicide rate in Australia shows that society just can’t carry on with the “suck it up” mentality anymore. “You can’t hold it in – you need to find someone – someone you know who will listen and someone you know who will not judge you,” he said. He said a man still can be “tough and hard” while also reaching out and seeking help to ease their mental health load.

[Source: Ulladulla Times]