SPORTING clubs, community groups and businesses of all sizes were reminded last week that mental health issues can arise anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n
Former North Melbourne and Sydney Swans champion Wayne Schwass addressed an audience at The Bendigo Club last Wednesday about the importance of speaking up when dealing with emotional wellbeing challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a really important conversation around the important of looking after your wellbeing proactively, and how you can do that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll give people a range of tactics and techniques they can take away and use to prioritise their mental health if they haven\u2019t already.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schwass, who played 282 games for the Kangaroos and Swans, went public with his battle with depression in 2006 despite being diagnosed eight years prior.<\/p>\n
The 1996 premiership player was a pioneer for athletes being open when they\u2019re finding things difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe now have clubs and an industry that supports players when they put their hand up, and they\u2019ll support them by allowing them to take the necessary time off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat never happened when I was playing, it didn\u2019t happen 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still have a long way to go because for every player, male or female, that puts their hand up to say their dealing with mental health conditions, the reality is there\u2019s a lot more that haven\u2019t spoken up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through his health and wellness organisation PukaUp, Schwass encourages everyone, not just elite athletes, to treat their emotional health like they do their physical health.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would really hope that people walk out of here tonight with the understanding that they have wellbeing and what they can do to look after it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t wait to get sick physically before we look after our physical health, so it\u2019s the same principle, don\u2019t wait until you become unwell emotionally before you start to think about what you do, do things today so you stay healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SPORTING clubs, community groups and businesses of all sizes were reminded last week that mental health issues can arise anywhere, anytime. Former North Melbourne and Sydney Swans champion Wayne Schwass addressed an audience at The Bendigo Club last Wednesday about the importance of speaking up when dealing with emotional wellbeing challenges. \u201cI think it\u2019s a […]<\/p>\n