By Danielle Kutchel
A Pakenham resident has been recognised for her advocacy for mental health – in a year where mental health challenges made more headlines than ever.
Lisa Westgate was named third in the Roar Awards in the Best Advocate for Mental Health category.
The Roar Awards are part of Roar Success, a business mentoring and support platform.
Having lived with PTSD, anxiety and depression that forced her to give up her career as a paramedic, Ms Westgate has channelled her experiences into a successful new role as an advocate in mental health.
Ms Westgate facilitates training and workshops for both individuals and organisations – especially those in uniform – drawing from her own experience in mental health, providing strategies and training to overcome mental health challenges.
After a difficult year for everyone, Ms Westgate was excited to be able to cap it off with her award recognition, which forced her to reflect on why she continues to advocate for more transparency around mental ill-health.
“I can’t imagine not talking about this in the world,” she said.
Her business didn’t escape the Covid carnage, with the pandemic forcing her to cancel several training events.
As a result, Ms Westgate pivoted to focus on “the preventative side of the equation”, having conversations with workplaces about how to foster healthy conversations about mental health.
She’s also spent time working on her next book, about preventative strategies for mental wellness – so that people are less likely to need to access crisis services like Beyond Blue and Lifeline.
In a way, she said, Covid helped that along, as a greater focus was placed on mental health struggles.
“Hopefully there’s a greater understanding and acceptance [of mental health],” she said.
“Nobody is immune; nobody ‘owns’ mental health issues, it can affect anybody in any workplace.”
Her advice to all, no matter their circumstances or stressors, is to shorten the list to only the things you can control yourself. She also suggests training yourself to find the silver linings everyday events.
“If you’re stuck in traffic, the silver lining might be you get to hear the end of your podcast,” she said as an example.
She also recommends those who are struggling reach out to talk to somebody, whether that be a friend, family or mental health crisis service.
“Resources may be stretched, but they are out there,” she said.
As 2021 looms large on the horizon, Ms Westgate is looking forward to being able to continue doing what she loves: visiting schools and workplaces to talk about mental health.
“I’m hoping to get into as many places as possible to help normalise these conversations and help give employers some structure to address these issues. We all need to help other out,” she said.
For more information about Lisa Westgate’s experience, visit https://lisawestgate.com/
