Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Whakamomori: Raw, open and honest

Sofie Bribiesca

Mon, 27 Jul 2015 14:08:00 +1200

Hi Steven. I asked my friend on Sunday if anything was in place for Kids at his School dealing with suicidal thoughts. He said they have a full time social worker who deals with that and she does have experience in that area.

Sofie Bribiesca

Mon, 06 Jul 2015 12:31:50 +1200

Hi steven, my friend wasn't at our usual Sunday "church" so info will have to wait until next weekend but I do see that the ERO (not bad reading) has some informative surveys and reports which help a little to identify where kids can and do seek help. I also…

Russell Brown

Sat, 04 Jul 2015 15:22:13 +1200

Nice one, guys.

Jane Pearson

Sat, 04 Jul 2015 13:12:58 +1200

Ian Dalziel

Sat, 04 Jul 2015 05:50:46 +1200

words, worth persevering...
'Raw, open and honest' is never easy – and the above interchange of adults just goes to show there can be a path through, or several, when hands are extended, and minds aren't welded shut...
To transfer a similar process of insights and openness down a coupla…

Sacha

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 22:50:31 +1200

Thank you. We're good. Some days I am too busy to explain clearly.

Sofie Bribiesca

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 17:45:41 +1200

Like I already said. If the schools can’t cope with just talking about suicide, how in the hell do they cope with it actually happening

Steven, I'll get back to you with this after the weekend because a friend of mine is in one of Northland's High Schools and he…

Sacha

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 15:25:35 +1200

Yeah I give up. Better things to do.

Russell Brown

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 14:43:20 +1200

I don’t know you mean when you say “we all agree”

Steven, this just seems unhelpfully niggly. Don't we agree that follow-up is important?

Sacha

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 12:29:56 +1200

It’s different becouse it’s not sanctioned by the correct people?

Mike’s campaign does not have a large, well-resourced organisation behind it, to provide the follow-up that we all agree is needed. I doubt Kirwan felt that handing out his personal phone number was required. Mike needs better backup, which is…

Sacha

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 12:26:44 +1200

before trying to explain how ignorent they are

feel free to provide any examples as they occur.

Russell Brown

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 09:45:50 +1200

This then raises the questions: who are the correct people?

I'm not sure if "correct people" is the right phrase, but Mike's work is conducted through his own organisation, the Key to Life Trust, rather than through publicly-funded services. And it does seem that the social services mainstream is wary…

Russell Brown

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 08:36:33 +1200

Mike King is doing much the same thing, but his target demographic is different. So lets get this correct. It’s different becouse it’s not sanctioned by the correct people? Or that the target demographic are young adults?

I would say "not sanctioned by the correct people" is the main one,…

Ken Sparks

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 00:16:48 +1200

Before editing the documentary I was given a specific directive to exclude any references to methods of suicide for the very reason John states. It wouldn't have been in any way helpful if we had but we did have to be careful when editing interviews with those who had attempted…

John McCormick

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 17:04:12 +1200

I was a counsellor for Lifeline in the late 1990s. Ideas may have changed, but the theory then was that reporting of suicide can "normalise" it. For someone who is already depressed, the more they hear/read/see about suicide, the more it comes to seem like an acceptable solution. Copy-cat suicides…

Sacha

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 16:52:10 +1200

Mike's road is harder. Much respect.

Sacha

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 16:50:42 +1200

Steven, it's sad that you see someone adding knowledge about public policy processes from their work experience as 'patronising'.

I value when scientists, artists, parents (and anyone else really) share what they know here. It helps me understand the world better. I do not believe I am better than anyone…

Russell Brown

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 15:29:24 +1200

I get the impression, Sasha, that you are dissaproving of the none ministarial effort. Are you uncomfortable?

No, I don't think that's what Sacha's saying. Just pointing out that there was a coordinated official effort to go with JK's ad campaign. It is quite different to what Mike's doing.

Josh Petyt

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 13:48:51 +1200

I feel the same way. Mike King always came across as a nice guy but his comedy never got to me. What he’s doing now is so important, the documentary was amazing. Props to Mike King and those supporting him.

Sacha

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 11:15:34 +1200

Something never asked of Sir John Kirwan, that I know of.

Quite a different situation. There was a multi-year MoH-funded National Depression Initiative (NDI) including helplines and suchlike running alongside his personal involvement in the TV adverts. Those were all he had to do to make a difference.

Ken Sparks

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 21:02:15 +1200

I had a completely different opinion of Mike King after editing the 'Target Zero' documentary. As a comedian he never appealed to my sense of humour but I'm filled with admiration for him and the way he manages to connect with people less than half his age. Handing out your…

andin

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 16:53:28 +1200

. The view has long been that talking about suicide to young people is risky, that it normalises suicide as a behaviour.

But being a completely selfish arsehole and talking endlessly and loudly about how well one is doing, and how you've come out on top ahead of others because...…

James Butler

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:18:58 +1200

Understanding something and being able to talk about that something and share your experiences is surely the first steps towards being able to cope/deal with it?

Exactly – by being too scared of normalising suicidal behaviour perhaps we make it harder to normalise suicidal feelings. If you can't put your…

llew40

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:49:13 +1200

Good piece. I've got nothing but personal admiration for Mike King's personal journey. Kia kaha, Mike. And I don't get the connection between 'normalising' something and that process somehow exacerbating the problem. Sir JK has 'normalised' depression for many who regarded it as a stigma rather than an illness. Understanding…

Craig Ranapia

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:36:50 +1200

The view has long been that talking about suicide to young people is risky, that it normalises suicide as a behaviour. There will be further concern that Mike's campaign is so tightly tied to him as a person.

But we've spent a long time not talking about suicide and the…

Public Address

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 13:36:50 +1200

Discussion from blog post.