Learn self-care Express your feelings Tell Someone Someone loves - PDF document

Overview of LET’S TALK presentations Learn self-care Express your feelings Tell Someone Someone loves you Talk Ask Listen Keep Talking

Background LET’S TALK is a community driven initiative that arose in response to the rising death toll by suicide in Victoria’s Southwest region. Following the death of four your people in that year alone, and 16 people in total a small group of people affected by the suicides came together to talk about this rising concern. The result was a call to action to “do something” to stop this terrible tragedy from happening again. The LETS TALK initiative began informally when a few interested members of the community organised a “talk” at a local golf club. The attendance at that meeting was enormous for a small country setting. The conversations that followed from the most recent survivors of suicide but also many stories emerged from people who had lost friends or family to suicide some time ago as well. There were many tears shed but a general commitment emerged that something needed to be done. The LETS TALK committee established some clear aims and objectives and began with community talks. The community responded in large numbers and events and request to talk grew. The issues of stigma and not speaking out early enough were identified as key areas to address. There are unique and increased risks to people living in rural areas. The consistent message received from these suicide loss survivors is that the person, who died, felt unable to share their worries and fears with anyone. They were not seeking help or in some cases they didn’t know that they could receive help, or that things could get better. Tragically, they believed suicide to be their only option to escape the pain. Their families and friends will never recover and it’s the mission of LETS TALK to prevent this happening again to other individuals and families and extended networks of friends and colleagues. Since May 2016 there have now been presentations delivered to over 12,000 individuals. Community members with lived experience have stepped forward to tell their stories and help to break down the stigma and many more have spoken out to get help for themselves or assisted friends to get help. Community Awareness Events As the Colac Let’s Talk team is still in its infancy we are hoping to raise awareness by attending local events to spread the message along with presentations at local businesses, clubs, we also hope to create a major event during the year. We would encourage you to look at our Facebook page to see some of the upcoming events to give a sense of what can be achieved when a community comes together around this issue. Our message to you/your club/your business is that if this presentation resonates with you then we encourage y ou to become or create your own versions of LET’S TALK for your c lub/business.

LET’S TALK, acronym Learn Self Awareness Develop an understanding of yourself, your personality, including strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, motivation, capacity and emotions. Self-Awareness allows you to understand other people, how they perceive you, your attitude and your responses to them in the moment. Learn your capacity and what you can manage. There will always be stuff from “Left field” and figure out : - “can I deal with this myself? Do I need help? Or just let it pass and others will not think less of me!! Express Your Feelings Always express your feelings to the people in your life who really matter to you because opportunities are lost in the blink of an eye, but our regrets can last a lifetime. Feelings are extremely powerful, we need to be aware of them and act when they are uncomfortable. It is your responsibility to “change something” to ease the distress that you are feeling. Tell Someone Som e people love to talk and do it a lot. Some people don’t like to talk too much but ic an be helpful for everyone. It’s worth making the effort to talk through what’s going on for you with someone you trust. Good things can come from talking. Keeping worrying thoughts to yourself often lead to sad feelings. Someone Loves You Most of us are social creatures which lead to love and care by others as we develop strong relationships with those who we spend time with. The people around you care for you, so even when it appears all is lost , hang onto those around you knowing that they care for you and maybe lean on them. Talk You’re going to want to pick someone you trust to talk about things that are bothering you. It might be a friend, family member, teacher, doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist. They can help you get the skills and help of someone who’s trained to be a good person to talk to, so it’s worth considering. Keeping to yourself can lead to increased worry and the feeling of uneasiness get worse! Ask We all usually have an awareness of those around us. We all have a responsibility to others when we notice behavioural changes to select a time/place and be genuinely curious and concerned for their well=being. Your posture and vocal inflection will determine the response you receive. Be prepared that their response may concern you and just listen! Try to instil some alternatives/options. You don’t have to have all the answers but tell them that you are pleased that they have shared it with you. Listen Empathy has no script. There is no right or wrong way to do it. It is simply just listening. Holding space with Judgement, emotionally connected, and communicating that incredible message of “you’re not alone”.

Keep Talking It’ll help you sort through your thoughts and clarify whatever is going on for you at the time. While all your stuff is internal, it’s hard to see how it really works. Once you’ve had to say it out loud, it gets easier to get hold of. If you just worry about your problems without talking to someone about them, they probably start to seem worse and bigger than they actually are. Talking will cut them down to size. Someone who’s not involved in whatever’s bothering you might suggest options you haven’t thought of. If you’re talking to someone neutral, but caring, they won’t take sides or push an agenda. Talking is like a pressure valve for your head. Switch it on once in a while. The above is by no means the absolute solution to everything. It may just provide you with some tips on how to feel better within yourself and be more comfortable within the world you live in. Our presentation outcomes The desired outcomes for participants are to get some take home messages  Provide a description of what LET’S TALK acronym means  Describe the impact of stigma on preventing help seeking  Increase the confidence of people to speak openly about their own struggles with depression/anxiety/substance use or just feeling stressed  Practice using the LET’S TALK principl es in their own self care  Be aware of the range of supports and referrals and web-based tools available to assist with getting help If your community, sporting club, service group or secondary school would like us to present, please contact us @letstalkcolac@gmail.com CONTACT and donation information: By mail: Direct deposit Online @ Let’ s Talk Colac Let’s Talk Colac https://www.facebook.com/letstalkcolac/ PO Box 324 Ref: Business Name Colac Vic 3250 (BSB) 193-879 (A/c No.) 4890-18011