There are those people who feel intense pressure to conform to the traditional festive cheer when they just don’t feel it, and those with no close family ties or a robust support system.

Times are hard. The skyrocketing cost of living and other economic hardships are seeing families grapple with the pressure to provide a memorable Christmas, despite tight budgets.

During the festive season it’s important to make sure you’re prepared and have your mental health toolbox packed and ready to deal with whatever comes your way.

Anyone that has been to one of presentation would have heard me talk about the severe impact that bullying and harassment had on my mental health, wellbeing and education.

During resent presentations that has inspired conversations with people who have expressed the real impact that bullying has on them, both in the community, at school and in the workplace. Just last week I had a discussion with a person who is completely incapacitated by the toxic culture within their workplace and has lost all sense of worth due to this behaviour being able to continue within their workplace.

Workplace bullying is an issue that can have severe repercussions on an individual's mental health and overall well-being. It's a complex problem that not only affects the targeted individual but also impacts the entire work environment. Understanding the effects of workplace bullying on mental health and implementing effective strategies to combat it is crucial for fostering a healthy and productive workplace culture.

So lets discuss the impacts of bullying and harassment, particularly in the workplace, and what we can do about it.

The contribution made by women to the agricultural industry is undeniable, yet they continue to face cultural, social, and economic barriers, stopping many of them from truly participating in the development of agriculture.

Let’s get behind these farming women and break down these barriers once and for all.

Relentless coverage of world politics, global disasters, the compounding effects of drought, flood, and bushfire, and the impacts of policy change, interest rates, cost of living, fluctuating commodity prices, and the fallout from COVID, desensitises us to the real and continuous struggle at a grassroots level within our communities..

“I just don’t know how I’m meant to keep going.” This was how a sheep farmer from Central NSW, led a very emotional conversation with me recently. “I’ve battled so hard to recover from first fires, then flood, and now low prices and dry conditions. I’m physically, emotionally, and financially exhausted.”

This is an all-too-common conversation I have with people across regional Australia as I travel the country.

Developing a resilient mindset by using simple strategies can help us bounce back from setbacks, regain control, and cope through the tough times.

As a naïve 22 year old, going into business and purchasing my first farm with my wife, and my parents, I was realising a dream that I had harboured for the previous 7 years. Being that naïve 22 year old, little did I know that they wouldn’t be my only business partners, I would be entering into this brand new venture with a strong willed silent business partner. As with all businesses there are key stakeholders, vital relationships that help the business grow, but after nearly five years of growth and expansion, my silent partner would first play her hand and make some significant demands, not only on the operational and financial parts of the business but also the physical and emotional ones as well. The silent business partners name was Mother Nature.

I speak a lot in my presentations about support networks. As well as the importance of knowing who the five people are that you love, trust and know you could turn to for support and advice if things in your life went pear shaped. This could be anyone, your Wife or Partner, Mum or Dad, Brother, Sister Family, Friends, your GP, for example. As long as you know who they are and preferably as part of enacting your “personal self-care plan” you have let them know they are your support network before the situation arises that you have to call on them. Because let’s face it, crap happens in our life from time to time! When under pressure, your judgment can be a little clouded and decision making can be impaired especially if you are also dealing with a mental illness or your world is crashing down around your feet. You need to know who can really be there for you.

Over the last few years I have worked in communities around Australia and have witnessed first hand the effects that the worst droughts, bushfires and floods in history have had and the impact they have on rural and regional communities. I have heard some heart breaking stories and even though…

Although extremely alarming, the findings of a wellbeing report into the mental health of farmers, commissioned by the National Farmers Federation and Norco, aren’t surprising to me. Working closely with rural, regional and remote communities over the past 6 years as…

Are you familiar with that nagging feeling of worry and unease that creeps up on you while you are at work? Anxiety is a natural reaction when we are under pressure and overwhelmed, especially when working in isolation while running…

Over the past few years many communities across Australia have faced a multitude of natural disasters from droughts to fires to floods. Many of these communities have been impacted by a number, if not all of these disasters and some, like Lismore, impacted…

Feelings of loss and grief can be experienced after we lose someone or something we care about like; the death of a loved one; loss of a relationship; loss of a pet; loss of a job; a change to your way of life; or loss of important possessions. Grief is a natural…

Grounding techniques are a group of strategies that helps keep someone in the present. They help someone to regain their mental focus from an often intensely emotional state. Grounding skills can be helpful in managing overwhelming feelings or…

Over the last week, I have traveled around South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria speaking and have witnessed first hand the effects that one of the worst droughts in history is having on rural and regional communities. I have heard some heartbreaking…

Dairy farming can be a challenging business, with mounting business and seasonal pressures, focusing on how you are travelling as person and the state of your mental health can at times be neglected. I understand this all to well, this was me, focusing…

There is an undeniable bond between humans and their pets, whether you love dogs, cats, birds, ferrets or cows, for those who have pets, they can play a massive role in your life, they are part of the family but they also have a positive role to play in…

It was fantastic to join Christina Canters on this episode of her Stand Out Get Noticed Podcast. Christina and I met a few years ago at a charity event we both spoke at, and I have followed her work helping people become more confident and use their voice to…

It occurred to Pooh and Piglet that they hadn't heard from Eeyore for several days, so they put on their hats and coats and trotted across the Hundred Acre Wood to Eeyore's stick house.

Inside the house was Eeyore. "Hello Eeyore," said Pooh. "Hello Pooh. Hello Piglet" said Eeyore, in a Glum Sounding Voice "We just thought we'd check in on you," said Piglet, "because we hadn't heard from you, and so we wanted to know if you were okay." Eeyore was silent for a moment. "Am I okay?" he asked, eventually. "Well, I don't know, to be honest. Are any of us really okay? That's what I ask myself. All I can tell you, Pooh and Piglet, is that right now I feel really rather Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All.

With the recently, much publicised, high profile mental health battles and suicides in the news, sadly it reminds us that we still understand so very little about the individual battle that someone experiencing anxiety and depression goes through. Often to the outside world things can look normal, hidden behind masks the illness is silent and invisible. For the person who is struggling with depression or anxiety the battle is real, it can be like Sleeping with the Enemy.

Mental illness doesn’t discriminate, the thing that you rarely hear in the news, is that mental illness and suicide is common and doesn’t just affect high profile people, across the nation the facts are alarming.

Resilience, persistence and determination are the three words that describe Victorian mental health advocate, and professional speaker, Warren Davies.

Warren, who speaks under the banner ‘the unbreakable farmer’, recently addressed a group of farmers on the Darling Downs to highlight the importance of mental health issues by telling his own compelling story of a failed suicide attempt.