Alive and kicking goals: Women's reference group

When you're in the pits of depression, it does, it completely feels like this dark hole that just, just surrounds you I think the scary thing is that sometimes that darkness becomes it becomes your 'normal'. It becomes familiar. It almost becomes comforting to stay in the dark.

When you're in the darkness, it's exactly that, it's darkness. And it's suffocating. All your mind can think is I don't want to feel this, I can't take this no more and I don't want to feel it and there's no other way out... except for out...

We gotta fight. We gotta fight for life. Too often we focus on the physical stuff and the mental stuff, when really, it's the spiritual side that we forget about.

That's where the real pain comes in, that's where the real imbalance comes from. So how do you fix that? Having a sense of identity, knowing who you are and where you come from. We have come from a long line of survivors, you know? We're still here. No matter what's happened to us, we're still here and we're still fighting and we're still standing strong.

Language, culture, that's a part of someone's identity. And that's what we as young people need to look at. There's all the aspects of us. Like the social and emotional well being of us which is the spirituality side and which is, you know, our 'Liyan'.

Me, I found my strength with 'going bush'.  With my family. Just knowing the tides and the winds and feeling the sand in your feet. Lighting the fire, letting all the smoke go through you. It's just peace.

And all them thoughts in your mind, you can actually slow them down and think about them one by one. Because everything is so peaceful. I think a lot of people turn to drinking and drugs and other things. The problem goes away, but the next day it's still there.

You know when you're feeling yucky and down and stuff. When you feel like that, that's when you do need help.

I'm always talking to my cousins and sisters and yeah not holding things in. Once you do start talking about them type of things, you start to heal within yourself.

If I see someone hurting, I make the effort to actually ask them, 'Are you okay?' See if they need help because you might be the only person that ever did. They might just feel like 'I can't believe it.' 'It's the best day of my life. Someone took notice that I'm not okay. I'm falling apart. But you came to my rescue.'

You know, you could actually be an angel for somebody. It's not a shame thing to talk about if you're feeling down. And it's okay to talk about it. And to, you know, get together and to support each other and help those who are feeling down. So you know you never feel alone.

Because no matter what you're always going to have a friend, or.... a colleague, or a family member that cares and will do something to help. It's not easy, it's definitely hard.

But it's not impossible.

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I think everyone needs to find some passion in life. Something that's positive and makes them feel good.

Find what makes you happy. What excites you?

Be the best person that you can be. I am not gonna be who she is or who she ever was. I am going to be myself. Knowing the struggle that my Nan went through. It makes you appreciate what you have now. It's not going to happen overnight.

But you've got to take small steps. But they're achievable ones. So you can see the outcome. We just need to stop suicide. We need to stop it in its tracks. So it can't hurt anybody. It can't hurt any more families, mothers and fathers. It can't hurt sisters and brothers or anybody else. It can't hurt children.

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