Kyle’s story

I was part of the very first Live4Life program back in 2010. When I say that to people, they often get pretty shocked and a little impressed, like “Wow, here is this guy who has been involved with this program for 10 years!”

Unfortunately, I have to correct them because that’s not the case, my Year 8 Live4Life sessions came at a time in my life that I wasn’t ready to learn about mental health. I had spent years being taught the lessons of how to act like a man based on what I heard around me. I remember hearing the words “Boys don’t cry” when I was younger. This later evolved into phrases like “Man up” and “Don’t be a girl,” which were spoken frequently throughout my teenage years.

At school I was always on edge, fearing that somebody could attack my manliness. It kept me quiet, unemotional, and distant from my friends. Live4Life came around and I spent the sessions at the back of the class laughing at everything with my mates.

On the outside, I was cracking jokes, smiling and laughing, while on the inside I was wishing one of my mates would listen long enough to learn to pick up on the signs that I was struggling...

It wasn’t until years later when I fell headfirst into a job helping out with Live4Life that I realised how amazing this program is and how much I wished I could go and tell my younger self to pay attention.

It might have come a bit later than it was intended but Live4Life has taught me a lot and helped me to overcome a lot of misconceptions I had about mental health. I have loved every opportunity I have been given to work with young people and do my part to give stigma the flick!