When you need help, reaching out is one of the best things you can do. Lying in bed not talking to anyone might be easy to do at the time, but it could just make you feel worse. It might be hard to crawl out of it, but it’s totally worth doing so, even at your worst.
When I was at my absolute lowest living in Sydney in 2022, I felt like complete crap. I felt like my life had been thrown into the furnace. I didn’t know what to do. Yet, despite these depressing feelings, I not only reached out to friends and family and professional support, but also to several organisations because I wanted to help other people.
I recall that I sent Drive Against Depression’s co-founder Sarah Davis an email and she responded positively and with such great enthusiasm. We talked on the phone and she was moved by my lived experience enough to bring me on board and be a spokesperson and drive planner for DAD.
Since then, I have helped organise two successful Sydney drives and two Brisbane drives (both regions for the very first time) and told some of my story to hundreds of people. I have been an ambassador for the charity for almost a year now and I love every bit of it!
I am so grateful to have DAD in my life, mainly because my words and experiences can help others. DAD is a great place to chat openly about mental health and awareness and to break that annoying, persistent stigma down. To help break down the walls that are holding a lot of us back is such a satisfying feeling.
Here are some key takeaways of my time with the organisation so far and why you should get involved with DAD.
- It’s a place to talk about how you feel without any form of judgement
- It’s a quickly growing community of like-minded people
- It’s also about the love and passion surrounding cars and the greater motoring industry
- It’s an opportunity to be social and meet new people
- And you might just learn something new about someone!
So get involved and become a part of this wonderful growing community!
You can check out DAD’s website below and register your interest in one of our future drives!
We will be driving next in Sydney on Sunday 8 September, starting at the Dominelli Ford dealership!
Tales from a Bruised Mind 
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