The Hon. Kevin Anderson from the city of Tamworth which is Paul’s electorate, put the Woven Threads team in contact with a regional farmer from Manila recently who wanted to talk to us about his deali
ngs with Mental Ill Health. Manila is about half an hour north of Tamworth, and Michi and Paul travelled there to speak with Peter the Farmer who runs sheep and cattle on close to 10,000 acres.
To say that Peter and his family are affected by the drought is an understatement. Together with his wife Lou, and their sons Angus and Jock, every day is spent feeding livestock because there is literally nothing left growing there to provide sustenance. They have had to adjust and readjust time and again, to make things work during this environmental crisis, and not only physically.
Peter found he was unable to cope with what was happening, and became quite overwhelmed by what was before him. He became depressed, couldn’t sleep, and struggled to get out of bed. With his wife and family behind him showing support he knew he needed to do something, but didn’t know where to start. It wasn’t until a colleague mentioned to him that he had suffered the same symptoms and needed to go on medication, that Peter was able to realise that he too could fix this situation that seemed so insurmountable.
Months later, and Peter is very happy to be speaking with the Woven Threads team because he hopes that other people might recognise themselves in his story. Part of Peter’s message is helping people understand that, just like a broken arm needs time to mend, so does the mind, and although it’s harder to diagnose, it’s incredibly important to fix.
The whole team at Woven Threads is incredibly grateful Peter for bravely sharing his story with us, and we can’t wait to share it with you all.
Special thanks to Kevin Anderson member for Tamworth for connecting us with Pete to hear his story. For more information on Kevin check out his facebook page.