ROdown Blog

Calling all members to come aboard the RO Infobus!

Edvard Munch; The Scream. A painting which portrays depression

When: Thursday the 14th April at 7.30pm-8.30pm WST (7.30pm-8.30pm WA, 9.00pm – 10.00pm SA, NT, 9.30pm-10.30pm QLD, NSW, VIC, ACT, TAS) ---

It is a topic discussed in every type of media imaginable; books, songs, paintings (see accompanying picture by Edvard Munch), movies, tv shows. It is often represented inaccurately and the stigma surrounding it is incredible and very unnecessary. Yes, the Reach Out forums are going to discuss “DEPRESSION” in an Infobus session!

It is a ten letter word which for many of us brings a sense of dread and fear. It is the number one most common psychiatric disorder among adults and is also the leading cause of disability worldwide. It is predicted that by the year 2020 it will be an even greater problem and will show up in people at an earlier age.

It looks like a very bleak future, but it’s not – depression can be managed and we are going to talk about the topic openly and ask for your opinions and strategies for dealing with this problem. You don’t have to suffer with depression – you just need an open mind!!! We want to delete the stigma.

The bus is coming and it wants you to on board. We also have a special guest; Jonathon from “Youth Focus”, he is going to lead the discussion with some help from Roisin (our friendly RO staff member) and myself.

We aim to keep this discussion as positive as possible (might seem impossible when talking about a topic such as depression – it screams negativity!), and we ask you all to be prepared. This means having a plan in place if you start to feel upset or triggered during the discussion. Some suggestions on what to include in your plan can be found here: https://docs.google.co/Doc?docid=0ARilP6R8Sg5ZZGdrdmczcHRfMmc3Y2hxc2N0&hl=en. It’s important to have phone numbers for Kids Help Line (1800 551 800) and Lifeline (13 11 14) handy as well. We hope to see you all there for this discussion. I am sure we will all learn a lot.

See you soon, on the RO Infobus! :)