The document summarizes a Man Up event in Shepparton that aimed to promote help-seeking behavior in young men ages 18 to 25 for mental health issues. Over 200 people attended the event where former AFL player and Headspace spokesman Simon Hogan shared his experience battling depression and how opening up and seeking help expedited his recovery. The event was organized by Headspace Shepparton, AFL Goulburn Murray, and Valley Sport to encourage men that it is okay not to be okay and to help their friends who may be struggling.

1. 6 NEWS WEEKEND NEWS SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2015
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THEIR WORDS
Headspace general
manager Caroline
French: Often, young
males think they should be
able to work everything out
on their own. Not speaking
up, or being unaware that
it’s common to struggle at
times, prevents young men
seeking help when they
need it. This can create
considerable disruption to a
young man’s life, their
friends, their family and the
broader community. Man
Up is about helping men 18
to 25 to develop skills to
cope with emotional
distress, learn how to
manage pressure and how
to help their mates.
Valley Sport chief
executive David Quinn: It
is really important that
clubs and members know
how and where to seek help
if needed. We hope that the
Man Up event will
encourage all participants
to have the confidence to
have the tough
conversations when
required.
Purple power: Nathalia footballers Nic Fichera and Tom Scott. Show of support: Shepparton Swans Aaron Sabri, Tom Preece and Daniel McIntyre.Pictures: Elaine Cooney
It’s okay to speak up
MENTAL HEALTH FORUM ENCOURAGES MEN TO TALK ABOUT PERSONAL PROBLEMS
ELAINE
COONEY
elaine.cooney@
sheppnews.com.au
Strong message: Speakers Glenn Manton, Steve Leicester and
Simon Hogan with host Peter Cardamone.
Organisers: Grant Wilson, Martin Gleeson, Megan Carr,
Caroline French and David Quinn.
Valuable information: Headspace ambassador Simon Hogan.
More than 200 people —
mainly young men —
attended Shepparton’s Man
Up event at the Eastbank
Centre on Thursday night
when high profile speakers
discussed mental health,
addiction and reaching out
for help.
The event headspace
Shepparton, AFL Goulburn
Murray and Valley Sport
organised aimed to promote
help-seeking behaviour in 18
to 25-year-old men.
The organisations chose
the name Man Up to create a
different perception about its
meaning: instead of meaning
‘‘deal with it yourself’’ they
believe it should be about
‘‘it’s okay if I am not okay’’
and helping mates through
tough times.
Former Geelong and West-
ern Bulldogs footballer and
headspace spokesman
Simon Hogan told the
audience how ‘‘manning up’’
expedited his recovery.
He said opening up about
his battles with depression
was the manly thing to do
and it gave his friends and
team-mates an opportunity
to support him.
His only regret was that he
did not speak up earlier.
He told his story about how
he attempted to do ‘‘blokey’’
things such as drink too
much during the off-season
and put on a few bets.
‘‘I wasn’t a typical foot-
ball player, I was not the
blokiest of blokes,’’ he said.
‘‘I wanted to fit in.
‘‘All of a sudden I noticed I
wasn’t enjoying training
like I normally did, I wasn’t
eating or sleeping and
enjoying spending time
with friends.’’
He was attempting to
continue his busy life on
only four hours sleep and
people began to notice
changes.
When the team doctor
pulled him aside to check
he was all right, Mr Hogan,
believing it was the manly
thing to do, said he would
deal with it himself.
However, two weeks later
he took on board the
reclaimed definition of the
term and asked for help.
When he was diagnosed
with a mental health issue
and attended psychologist’s
appointments, he thought
‘‘I was different, I am an
AFL player’’.
Even though he did not
buy into the treatment side
of things, he took the drugs
and attended the appoint-
ments suggested, but two
months later, at the start of
the season, he fell in a hole.
‘‘I could no longer be on
my own, my parents would
take days off to care for
me,’’ he said.
Following one extremely
bad day where he felt
suicidal, he went to a psy-
chiatric hospital, which he
felt mortified about.
‘‘How embarrassing for
me, it was the least manly
thing I could have done,’’
he said.
He tried to hide this con-
dition because he thought it
was the ‘‘manly’’ thing to
do, but it forced him to
explain his whereabouts to
his close friends and team-
mate.
This was the best thing he
could have done because
support flooded in from
everyone and many people
had their own connections
with mental illness, which
made it feel normal.
He said he still had bouts
of major depression, but
had strong strategies in
place as well as a supportive
network of family and
friends.
Headspace direct clinical
services head Steve Leices-
ter spoke about how clubs
and mates could support
young men struggling with
alcohol and other drug
issues.