“I’ve been able to find my purpose in life at the age of 24 and that’s perfect.“ – Matt Runnalls
MATT Runnalls is a 24-year-old tradie who plays country footy. He’s got no real financial worries, his professional life is in order, and he’s long had a strong network of family and friends. But since he was 17, for reasons he still can’t explain, he’s battled severe anxiety and depression which led to several suicide attempts, as RUSSELL BENNETT discovers.
CORA LYNN premiership-winning midfielder Matt Runnalls’ situation is so eerily similar to that faced by thousands across the country, but yet it’s one so often left alone – left unspoken under the guise of a 20-something-year-old’s perceived cloak of invincibility, or the sheer awkwardness of opening up.
But Runnalls refuses to shy away from it, instead tackling the mental health issue head-on and hitting people right between the eyes with his cold, hard truth.
The young plumber, who grew up in Warragul, has even started his own foundation – ’Mindfull’.
“One of the massive factors of why I wanted to do my own thing with Mindfull was because of my age,” he said at footy training late last week.
“You see a lot of other foundations and none of them are run by a 24-year-old male who’s from the country who doesn’t have millions of dollars and doesn’t have the fame that some of these people do.
“I think that it will resonate with a different group, and probably a pretty big one. I am 24 and I am just like everyone else.”
Just before Round 1 of last year’s footy season, Runnalls took on a staggering 235-kilometre charity run in the name of mental health awareness. He raised an enormous amount of money but, cruelly, the event broke him physically.
He badly damaged the nerves in the left-hand side of his body, getting Piriformis Syndrome, which sidelined him for the whole of Cora Lynn’s undefeated premiership season.
“My hope was to get back and play in round four or five, which I wasn’t real rapt about because I was so fit,” he said.
“I’d never been so fit in my life, but it just continued all the way through the year until I didn’t qualify for the finals. I’ve still only got myself back running and I still have some issues with it now.”
Runnalls felt some pain about 130 kilometres into the run, but pushed through – adamant he wasn’t going to let anyone down. He paid a horrible physical price, but he regrets nothing.
“It’s probably one of the best things I’ve ever done – I learned a lot about myself,” he said.
“But it’s not much fun watching your side win grand finals when you’re not involved.”
He used his time away from the game to create Mindfull.
“I can resonate with people who do go through mental health problems and in the time that I had away from football I hit a low spot – not having the things I need,” he said.
“There are things that I need to be doing. You develop the tools to manage what you’re going through, and for me that’s fitness, gym, and boxing. They’re my outlets and the things I require to keep my mind busy. By not having them I felt in a hole there halfway through the season and it was up and down.”
But Mindfull has quickly taken off, and in May Runnalls will spearhead Suicide Prevention Australia’s 24-hour treadmill run in Melbourne.
“People are emailing me now that they know about Mindfull through social media and word of mouth, and they want me to come and talk to this person or do a presentation at this school,” he said.
Runnalls has plans for Mindfull to specifically help those in the bracket of 20-30-year-old men either involved in the construction industry, or playing local sport – domains at the height of blokey culture.
“Stereotypically, males struggle to speak up more than females,” he said.
“The construction industry is male-dominated and so is football.
“The suicide rates are just climbing rapidly, but hopefully we can put together some sort of program or workshop where we can focus on getting around those people who need help.
“I’ve been doing a few talks, not that I like to get on a personal level with people, but I have spoken to a lot of people who suffer and it’s pretty hard to hold back knowing you could help them.”
Unbelievably, Runnalls says he’s developed a kind of gratitude and compassion for what he’s been through.
“It’s just about making people accept the fact that mental illness is real, it is a debilitating condition and there’s no shame in speaking up and getting help,” he said.
“It’s been the best thing for me. I speak up freely and share my story and go around and tell it.
“It’s still nerve-wracking and there are some experiences that you don’t like re-living and you get a bit emotional about them, but at the end of the day if you’re directly or indirectly helping someone it’s a pretty rewarding feeling.
“I’d obviously love to have never had anything to do with it, and to have put my family and friends through some of the episodes I have. You never enjoy that, but I’ve been able to find my purpose in life at the age of 24 and that’s perfect.”
For more information about Mindfull, search ‘Mindfull Aus. Stand up against Stigma’ on Facebook.
Anyone needing help can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
