Living Strong With Lex

Lex with LIVING STRONG

STRONG Australia Head Trainer Alexa Towersey (@actionalexa) is not only one of the nation’s most knowledgeable and experienced PTs, but also an ambassador and speaker for mental health charity Livin (livin.org). Each month, she will be exploring a mental health issue and collecting and sharing the experiences of the Australians overcoming them. In this very special first edition, she shares her own story, with the hope it will empower the readers of STRONG Australia to embrace their own.

CONTENT WARNING: THIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES SUICIDE AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

Not so long ago, I lost a good friend in New Zealand to suicide. He was 38. He was smart and intelligent, funny and sensitive. He was popular and the life of the party. A gifted athlete and successful actor. From the outside looking in, he had everything. Now, he’s a statistic – as are the two young daughters he leaves behind.

It was a really powerful reminder that mental illness does not discriminate. It doesn’t care about how old you are, your sex, where you live, what car you drive, which footy team you support, how much money you have or how many people follow you on social media. And there is no ‘good’ or ‘right’ time to talk about it. We have to start getting comfortable having these conversations if we have any chance of attacking the mental illness and suicide statistics in this country.

Everybody has a story and everybody faces tough times. You may have been through something already, and chances are you’ll go through something in the future. And if not you, then someone close to you. What this tells you is that you’re not alone. What I’ve learnt over the past four and a half years of being an ambassador for Livin, is sharing your own story can empower somebody else to own theirs. My story When I was 15 years old, my Mum was diagnosed with manic depression. Overnight, my entire life changed. My Mum was a completely different person and my Dad didn’t know who she was. Half the time, my Mum didn’t know who she was. Back in those days, there was no awareness, education or support networks available for mental health or suicide prevention. Mental illness wasn’t even a recognised disease. I didn’t know what to do or say, or who to say it to. And if you asked me what my Dad thought about the situation, I have absolutely no idea – we never spoke about it. If you had asked my friends at school about it, they would have had absolutely no idea because I never told them.

When I was 17, and two weeks before my university entrance exams, I intervened in my Mum’s suicide attempt.

PHOTO CREDIT: JASON LEE

It was the most heartbreaking day of my life. Up until that point, I knew our family was struggling, but I had no idea my Mum felt like that was her only option. I wish we had the resources we have now because while it wouldn’t have changed her diagnosis, it may have better enabled us to give her the love and the support she deserved. The turning point Following my Mum’s suicide attempt, our lives were completely medicated. My Mum was prescribed a cocktail of anti-psychotics and steroids, and my Dad self-medicated with a bottle of whiskey – sometimes two a day. And I went to the gym. Training was my therapy, the weights room my sanctuary, and it was the first place I felt safe, in-control and empowered. It was also the first place I truly began to discover the connection between physical strength and mental toughness.

“When I feel physically strong, I think strong thoughts.”

This gift of empowerment is something I want to pay forward every single day. And for me, as both a female and a trainer, there is nothing more rewarding than watching a woman become empowered in her training and then seeing how this translates into her attitude towards the rest of her life. Being a trainer is my job – albeit a job I love. Inspiring people to have conversations that could potentially save lives is my passion project. I’m pumped that the readers of STRONG Australia get to be part of it.

You are not suffering from a mental illness. You are living with one. You may live with a mental illness, but you are not defined by it. And you do not need to have a mental illness to start a conversation about your mental health. Let’s change the dialogue.

Look after yourself. Look after your mates. And remember #itaintweaktospeak S

If you’re experiencing a hard time, need someone to talk to or are in crisis, there is always help available through these national 24/7 support lines: Lifeline: 13 11 14 Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467