Sam Mathews

My why **trigger warning (suicide)**

I first partnered with Black Dog Institute in 2020 just months after my own suicide attempt. My goal was to make a difference in the lives of those living with depression. If even one person was spared from experiencing what I did in the months following the lowest point of my life then my journey was not in vain. Depression is isolating, paralysing, and soul destroying. The aftermath, for me, saw people that I thought the world of act like I was invisible, complain that I wasn’t talking enough, and avoid me like I was a rare and highly infectious disease. 

Since then, I have quit my job and returned to university to become an Exercise Physiologist so that I can help others experiencing depression to live the best life they can with the cheapest, most readily available and accessible medicine out there - exercise! 

I have come to the conclusion that my mental health is always going to be something that I struggle with. That I will have to work harder than some to maintain an acceptable equilibrium. I’m so thankful that depression hasn’t really been an issue for me this year, however my anxiety has shot through the roof. Back in July my anxiety was extreme enough that it was causing intense physical responses and I realised that I was also experiencing burnout. I withdrew from uni for a much needed break and, although the decision was difficult, it has been the exact thing I have needed. 

So I am back for my sixth year. I am here for every single person who has experienced or is experiencing depression or poor mental health. I am here for those who have witnessed someone they love suffering, for those who have lost someone they love to this terrible illness. I am here for me and my family. I am walking for those who are suffering, whilst living out the experience myself. You are not alone! You are never alone ❤️