Kristy Williams

Mental health and suicide awareness

For the month of October, I am committing to walking 300klms, to raise awareness and money for ‘MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE’. Every life matters, every donation will allow those suffering to seek the treatment they need. Mental Health is real, suicide is real. Check in on your friends, family, work colleagues, in fact everyone. Noone deserves to suffer alone. For those that don’t know me, I am Kristy Williams. A survivor of family violence, sexual assault, significant mental health and suicide. From a young age, I was bullied, belittled, abused, punished, manipulated, and told ‘You will never be anything in life, and your nothing’. I carry significant trauma on my shoulders daily, that I am not ready to speak about. The past 7 years have been my most challenging years of all. My mental health declined immensely. The facade I wore, that I thought allowed me to behave in a way that presented a false and deceptive outward appearance, that hid my true feelings, intention and my situation, was no longer able to mask my mental state. Juggling life challenges and constant heart ache, it all got to much for me. Twelve months ago , I experienced the darkest day of all days, and I attempted to take my own life, to stop the pain, trauma and suffering. I was put into intensive care, and when deemed medical stable, I was transported to a psychiatric unit, where I received intensive treatment for my mental health. This by far was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life, to speak about my trauma, being away from my loved ones, and showing my vulnerability. The intense feelings of shame and guilt I hold still to this day, is overwhelming and unsettling. Knowing I hurt the ones that are my world, my nearest and dearest and my everything, never leaves my mind. Nil words will ever be able to describe how I was feeling, and my intention was never to hurt them. As I continue to work through navigating daily life, residing in a small regional town where everyone knows you and your personal business , work, interacting with people, and still trying to find me , it is timely I advocate for everyone that is suffering because of someone else, suffering with extreme heart ache and pain , and fighting what feels like an impossible fight. I want you to know, you’re not alone. Your mental health does not define you. Keep fighting, keep speaking up and remember you are stronger than battles you’re facing. Your darkest days will make you stronger. Remember “I’m enough”. Share