Support my 180km challenge for mental health research!

My walk is dedicated to the memory of my cousin, Matt Galea

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Chris Camilleri

I’m walking in solidarity this October for Australians affected by mental illness and suicide. You are not alone.

Total Raised

$8,558

Total Distance

200km

Distance Goal

180km

Support My Walk for Mental Health Research

Did you know that 1 in 5 Australians experience symptoms of mental illness each year?

This October, I’m taking part in One Foot Forward to help Australians impacted by mental illness and suicide.

I'm walking to raise funds for Black Dog Institute to put ground-breaking new mental health treatment, education, and digital services into the hands of the people who need them most.

It would mean so much to me if you donated to support my walk.

Together, we can create better mental health for all Australians.

My Updates

Support network

in our lives we feel isolated and not able to speak as we feel we will be judged or mis heard, we feel like we have no one to turn to, then people come on our lives for all sorts of reasons we’ll one women came into my life and would change it as I knew it existed, the lady become my wife Tayla and since being together our lives have been inriched the way we build each other up love each other and unconditionally care for each other, yes we bikker like to old married people but it’s skin deep the real support is allowing each other to live in parallel lives and support our journeys in life, I love you Tayla thank you for everything and walking with me today

The one who angers you is the one who controls you

for a long time I have let people anger me and get under my skin and let them send me on a spiral this makes us all puppets to a feeling which we cannot control as we are only allowing the anger and hate in, the best thing is to go to people or things you like to do to relax and calm your thoughts over thinking will destroy you quicker then it would the person who has angered you

Siblings

Today’s walk was with the most consistent and connected people to my up bringing, not including mum and dad where do we start we grow to love them we get into mischief together we laugh together hang shit on each other become each others biggest cheer leaders, they challenge us upset us but most importantly are the most unjudgmental yet judgemental people in your corner they will raise you up and rip you down they will kick your arse and and be your biggest protectors they love hard and support each other the most important thing is they are most honest with you as they don’t care if they upset you to protect you and will get the best version of you. this may hurt at the start but the honest truth is it’s what unconditional love looks like they want you in there life and need you to create a life with them no matter how old or distant away you live, when I was 25 years old and had the black dog barking at me loud and I wasn’t paying attention I ended up a bit messed up and let’s say didn’t want to be here. I came home from.my sister graduation one day to read a note from my sister of how much love the family had for me then how much she needed her big brother and that we needed to conversate more to build a bond together, I sat and cried for hours and for the first time I wanted to change a version of my self and start some self care and love, a little bit at a time. from that day I went to a Dr and said please don’t medicate me but I want to talk to someone to help me. fast forward I got the help and with 1% changes I was able to make some big difference in my life I saved me I love my siblings and want the best for them as they do for me we are very close and we all need each other we are very lucky to have each other

Catching up and its rewards

catching up with people who bring joy to your life is a real pleasure and really lifts our moods, catching up with friends family or whoever may bring you joy can be extremely painful if you have someone that doesn’t want you there enjoying your time and could send you in a spiral, always looking at your clock and messages etc the you don’t get the quality time tou deserve and end up in a worst mood then prior to meeting with people, don’t be afraid to let them know that you need to catch up with people for your mental release and a dopamine hit it’s one of lives great pleasures one which I have been more then lucky to, today’s walk ended up being a my 1st of many park runs it was a great way to start a Saturday morning with some great people

What we say to others will have more impact then we may realise

so for long time I have always shot from the hip and the words that have come out of my mouth to others have impacted the other person more then me whether it was kind or hurtful, I have long forgotten what I have said but have lane we realised how much impact I have had, I have got in a bit of strife for saying things that I may have thought were funny to me but Infact someone might have being mentally struggling and did not see the funny side of my joke only to realise I had put them in a spiral and didn’t realise until someone else had had told me on the other side I have always influenced people with out realising what I have said into hear months and years later that people have held onto my words and use them when they have needed them the moral of this story is we don’t no what people are going through so the best thing we can do is be kind and if we have nothing nice to say we best say nothing

Our own worst enemy

from time to time we hear things or things happen out of our control, if we have a fragile mind upon hearing or seeing these things our mind will go spinning in a mess and thoughts and our own self sabotage kicks in we become distant sleepless less engaged in anything why we are in this manic stage it’s not until we accept that things are beyond our control and not personal that we regain control of the situation it may not make you feel better instantly but you will have some awareness and control over your thoughts and the way you receive the information thus allowing you to live forward and out of the manic spin this happened to me quite recently and it sent me for 6, I didn’t sleep I dreamt about it I was not engaged to people or situations beside me I done some exercise listened to a book I had on audio and started becoming self aware and in control

Lessons when we least expect them

in life I have lived fairly care free and on my own terms but it hasn’t always been this way, as a young fella I got my self in a fair bit of strife and pushed people away from me for having an opinion different to the narrative or letting people know about it at a time I probably shouldn’t have it had some huge repercussions on friendships and my own mental health started spiralling, I become self aware of this but not before a bad spiral, looking back on this the messages were clear and I didn’t need some of these people in my life or need to be in these situations but I couldn’t get away from the messages were clear and in the end I got some great and clear messages but at the time didn’t seem like it was all going to work out.

time and the truth will always find away to the top but just may show it self in a hard lesson we must learn about ourselves brine we don’t want to acknowledge them

The people you meet

sensitive content today was a little different didn’t walk today needed to give legs a rest, I was reading the local Broken Hill paper a few days ago when I stumbled upon a story about a local film maker and mental health advocate who was in the making of a documentary dedicated to his daughter to whom he lost to suicide when she was 18 years old this article was tough to read and shook me, so I decided I would like to track this man down as he was bringing awareness through his heartbreak and his strength was inspirational to me, so I found him on Facebook and was a little nervous I must say but I reached out to him and asked if he would like to come for a walks or a coffee to my suprse Jason returned my messsge and through his busy schedule he freed some time to come speak with me of his story of heartbreak and his passion and love to bring this film to the people dnd with it the messsge, we spoke for some time and I was blessed to be able to be in this moment with this man Thsnk you Jason RIP Jordan

The spiral part 1

from time to time we have bad days bad moments bad news this becomes negative to our narrative and our goals and lifestyles are threatened and all of a sudden our mindset reacts to the negative and nearly impulsive we become a victim to the news and we start to over think the worst some may say we immediately clam up and start a spiral of negative though and think the worst then some bounce back from this and reflect and admit and accept some continue the spiral and we start the suppress our emotions and how we really feel and allow things in that make us feel temporary good eg alcohol drugs scrolling over eating sugary foods etc why we try to figure it out little do we realise that we are still spiralling down but continue to take these things to make our self’s feel a little joy this could happen for week months years as we just come come to terms with reality, we play it off as it becomes the new norm and we just live it, people say a few things that help but your numbing the real pain under neath ps I was chased by a dog today on my walk and had to jump a barbed why fence, let me tell you not real funny as I was in a par of soft footy shorts

Our children

Today George wanted to come for a walk with me, I said yes no worries I would love the support so we set out at 6am nice an early we got half our into our walk and it starts raining we kept moving on our walk, he wanted to keep going although he was cold wet and feeet were soaked I he said we need to keep going, he showed some real resilience and toughness my children are everything to me the as parents we will get it wrong and they will push us even when we are doing it tough although we try to let them no we are ok our children no when we are not. I have a very honest parenting style and try not to auger coat life for them as they need to no what’s it about to George and Olivia I love you

Get comfortable being uncomfortable

for to long we have got used to routine and living what we call normal behaviour then wonder why nothing ever changes or why can’t I get to the next level or the next step in our lives the thing is we are comfortable in our everyday lives and become lazy in our minds and our body’s and our communication to others by creating something new or just trying it you are opening your mind to new things or a tough conversation with someone, the possibility of success or real life changing commu becomes a real possibility of success but it may become hard and feel uncomfortable, well this is what I like to call growing pains and is where success comes from, if we get used to being uncomfortable it means we are growing learning and succeeding in our lives me walking 12km today in the heat and with flies attacking me, I had no water a sore leg. it was uncomfortable but boy do I feel like a real winner today for pushing my self

Toxic positivity

today’s walk was a little different today and walked before sun up in Wagga it was different let’s be real to each other and do t be shy we are not ok and do struggle let’s change the way we address each other Toxic positivity is when people respond to difficult situations or feelings by insisting that you should always be positive, no matter how you feel. While having a positive outlook can be helpful, toxic positivity ignores real emotions and can make someone feel worse. It’s like telling someone to just "look on the bright side" when they’re struggling, which can feel dismissive or invalidating. ### Good Examples of Positivity: 1. **Encouragement:** "I know things are tough right now, but I believe you can get through this." - This acknowledges the difficulty while still offering support. 2. **Optimism:** "It's okay to feel sad. It shows you care. Let’s talk about it." - This allows space for genuine feelings and encourages conversation. ### Bad Examples of Toxic Positivity: 1. **Dismissive Comments:** "Just cheer up! It could be worse!" - This minimizes the person’s feelings and suggests they shouldn’t feel sad. 2. **Ignoring Feelings:** "Everything happens for a reason. Just stay positive!" - This can make someone feel like their pain is unimportant or that they shouldn’t express it. ### Explaining Toxic Positivity Think of toxic positivity like putting a band-aid over a deep cut. The band-aid might look nice and cheerful, but it doesn't help heal the real wound underneath. It’s important to talk about how you feel, whether it’s sad, angry, or confused, instead of just trying to force yourself to be happy all the time. Being real about your emotions can help you heal and feel better in the long run.

The struggles

Today’s walk was proudly brought to you by the rain, it did make it a bit harder and more of a struggle this did not stop me as most of us have done in the past we have struggled at some point in our lives we have been a victim to our own thoughts and we let them control us causing us to struggle more, I 1st had mental struggles when I was in my early 20s but played them off as good times as hangovers not realising I was on a spiral, it wasn’t until I tooltmy self to a dr that I started to get the professional help I deserved, the road in front was slow and nothing changed over night but more and more I become stronger and my mind got to a point of self belief again,

We do cry

Today’s walk was a little tougher not physically but had some time to refelct and speak out aloud to the ones above us and it just made me tear up a bit out of reflection we do cry men women do cry when times get tough. or we miss some one or the day just feels heavy and we can’t wear it any more it dosent make us any lesser actually only stronger as people and brings us together for a time to be comforted, when I got the news about Matt’s passing I was sitting in the car with Tayla and my son George and my sons found it hard to look at me as he hasn’t seen his dad cry before, I didnt hide it from him I owned it in front of me and he came over and gave me the biggest cuddle and asked if I was ok

Mates

you don’t need to have quantity you need 1 quality mate, That meets you you without judgement and is honest enough to hurt your feeling and your friendship is stronger enough to realise they were bringing you up and they had your back from the start but our mental mind didn’t realise we need a mate for a 2 am phone call or an 8 min check in #mates

The measure up

I found my self really questioning my self and fell into a deep depression when I thought I had to be like everyone else, buying a home getting married having kids etc it wasn’t until I really started to accept that I was unique and different to the norm that my thoughts had stated to reverse and I was becoming in control of my self again no matter where you are in life it’s your journey and no one else’s to rent space in your mind

The call

make the call to someone you haven’t spoke to for a while and say hello l, the only reason your not calling them now is because your ego has got in the way and the excuse is oh it’s been so long now, it’s weird, they don’t call me either, the call might save someone’s life if not your own pick up the phone text DM #reachout

My Achievements

Thank you to my Sponsors

$1.02k

Jed Wilson

$540

Mick & Deb

Proud of you my son.

$540

Jason Wrona

Well Done Camma

$520

Harris & Williams Electrical Pty Ltd

Great work

$316.50

Inline Floors

Every K is a kilo.

$274.30

Joe Kylie

You got this,

$265.86

Anita And Gianna

We are so proud of you Uncle Chris. We love you

$263.75

Angelfreight Pty Ltd

Well done Chris, awesome effort.

$255.17

Marko Kokic

$253.20

Aaron G

Well done Chris

$242.65

Ryan

$212.64

Kate And Bundy

$211.56

Sam Camilleri

YOU HAVE BRAINS IN YOUR HEAD. YOU HAVE FEET IN YOUR SHOES. YOU CAN STEER YOURSELF IN ANY DIRECTION YOU CHOOSE. [DR. SEUSS)

$211

Victoria Camilleri

Chris!! I am so beyond proud of you for this challenge. Keep on doing those kms!!

$158.25

Jason Wrona

$158.25

Joe Mercieca

Good on you buddy,I love you.

$112.64

Kaan Nix

All love bro!

$112.64

Deb & Michael

Well done.

$112.64

Wags

Walk hard mate, good thing you sorted out your Hernia…

$112.64

Shane & Brooke

Good Work Chris 😀😀

$112.64

Tonina-lee Galea

$111.90

Richard Pantano

$111.27

Matthew Knowles

Good cause for a good cunt

$111.27

Raby Family

Proud of you. Love Pete, Jacq & Harry

$111.27