ADDRESSING causes and prevention of suicide and other mental health issues was the focus of a "Mental Health in the Bush" evening at Ceduna, as a part of Mental Health Week and the Suicide: It’s No Secret campaign.
Organised through the Mental Health team at Ceduna Health Centre, led by Julie Kurenda of Ceduna Mental Health and Uniting Church minister Reverend Sue Ellis, the information session aimed to break the silence on suicide, let the community know there is help available and to look out for the signs of mental illness or depression.
Suicide: It’s No Secret is a Uniting Church campaign which aims to get people to be more open about the causes of suicide and how it can be prevented.
Suicide continues to be a big issue for many communities, with more lives lost from it each year than to road accidents.
An expert panel was put together for the session, which consisted of Julie Kurenda, CAMHS nurse Kathy Mercer, CAMHS psychologist Dr Payman Bakhtiarian, psychologist with Ceduna Hospital Dr Ken Fielke and Denise Champion of the Uniting Church Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress.
The afternoon started with an invitation only session at 3pm, with a public session at 7.15pm at Ceduna Memorial Hall.
Reverend Ellis said in both sessions people discussed resilience in the community, teaching optimism and being optimistic in the future.
“The community needs to be aware we all have a role in listening to each other and to see a GP if they are struggling with life,” she said.
“Hard times shouldn’t define who we are - we must all learn to persevere and be well again in situations like this, not just during Mental Health Week but every week.”
A service of remembrance was also held, led by Reverend Ellis and Anglican Archdeacon the Venerable Brian Jeffries, which gave people in the community a chance to reflect on loved ones lost to suicide.
Ms Champion, who relayed her own personal loss of a family member to suicide, said by sharing her own experiences she hopes people can learn and help those they love from making a decision which will affect many people.
“People will be able to gain confidence from accessing information from service providers and we can create awareness of accessing information being the right thing to do.
"There is plenty of help available for anyone feeling depressed or lonely.”
Julie Kurenda said Ceduna has facilities available for anyone needing help coping with mental illness.
“Whether the problems people are facing are physical or psychological, people need to see a GP so they can find out how to handle it safely,” she said.
“Ceduna Health Centre has some very good facilities, which includes an available telelink to psychologists at Glenside in Adelaide.”
