My Story
My name is Oliver Dunn, I am a former surfer, turned stand up paddler. I am a supervisor in a successful animation studio. Originally from England, lived in Australia for 10 years and am currently living in Canada.
I have been wrestling with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember. Though it has only been recently that they have really come to the surface and forced me to tackle them.
After a series of life events that caused me to lose my identity and purpose in life, I retracted into myself. After about 5 years of this social isolation, it finally culminated in a mental breakdown at work in Sept 2019. From there depression and anxiety came flooding to the surface in a big way and I came close to attempting a suicide.
The stigma around men and masculinity and not speaking about emotions for me is what made the situation so difficult to deal with. As the negative feelings build up, it becomes harder and harder to talk about them, until eventually you snap.
The turning point for me came with a post on facebook. Where I finally admitted to myself (and the world!) that I had a problem. From there it has been a long road to recovery, one that I am still on.
I am now passionate about trying to remove the stigma around mental health. Doing what I can to spread the word. I hope that by sharing my story, it will encourage others to reach out for help if needed. See the link in the footer for links the charities.
A few places where I have been mentioned.