For the health of a nation

The 2021 Ryman Healthcare Senior and University of Canterbury Young New Zealanders of the year spend their days working toward a physically and mentally healthier Aotearoa.

An octogenarian, Dr Doug Wilson works tirelessly to elevate the health and wellbeing of his contemporaries. As Ryman Healthcare Senior New Zealander of the Year, he’s shining a light on the value his generation brings to society. And with a cheeky laugh, he suggests that we should all “create yourself a fantastic life, not a crummy one”.

Mental health advocate Jazz Thornton is University of Canterbury Young New Zealander of the Year. She’s “proud that New Zealand is choosing to take mental health seriously”. When Jazz realised that she was only surviving, she shifted her focus to fighting for herself and others. She co-founded Voices of Hope and uses her lived experience to provide hope and instigate change for mental health in Aotearoa.

Photo credit: Maddie Graeme

Jazz Thornton

A 26-YEAR-OLD CRUSADER FOR MENTAL HEALTH, JAZZ HAS CHANNELLED HER LIVED EXPERIENCE INTO HELPING OTHERS CONQUER THEIR MENTAL HEALTH DEMONS.

After years of childhood abuse, depression, hospital stays, and multiple suicide attempts, Jazz decided to “stop surviving and start fighting”. She enrolled in film school to learn how to tell the stories of others like her. She’s the award-winning director of Jessica’s Tree, The Girl on the Bridge, and author of the aptly named Stop Surviving Start Fighting, and the guided journal My Journey Starts Here.

In 2014, Jazz and Genevieve Mora co-founded Voices of Hope, a suicide prevention organisation. “We felt the need to use our past experiences with mental illness to provide hope to those struggling.” Through Voices of Hope, the pair are combining advocacy, campaigning, and storytelling to create – and implement – change for mental health. “I put up a (Facebook) status about a friend of mine I had lost to suicide and Gen reached out to me and said ‘we have to do something about this’. We were 18 and hadn’t met in person yet.”

Moving forward, Jazz is strategic. “I’ve really started to understand the global impact of what is going on so I’m now working on a new project on the global story of mental health alongside some incredible campaigners in 15 countries.”

People often ask how to identify someone who needs help. Too often, people are in crisis situations before anybody realises they’re struggling. “It’s really hard as everyone is so different. There are some key warning signs like starting to isolate or disassociate, enjoying things less, or starting to turn up late as disorganisation is a big one”, says Jazz. When signs are noticed, Jazz says that the best (and easiest) thing anyone can do is to have “that conversation without feeling like they have to wait until they’re in crisis”. It’s about having those conversations of “how are you, really?”.

Dr Doug Wilson

BORN WITH DYSLEXIA AT A TIME WHEN IT WASN’T UNDERSTOOD, DOUG FACED AN UPHILL BATTLE. AN INTELLIGENT CHILD, HE EXCELLED IN MATH AND THE SCIENCES YET WAS CONSISTENTLY LAST IN SPELLING.

But as Doug says, “I just got on with it. Didn’t fuss”. That attitude has served him well throughout life.

Pursuing medicine “was a casual decision”. He spent three weeks in hospital aged 12 and he found it fascinating. “There were fancy X-ray machines, people coming to test blood pressure, and nurses whose starched costumes rustled every time they moved. It was all very interesting to me.”

Doug built a high-flying international career as a medical academic. He shifted to a world-leading role in the pharmaceutical industry at 50. “It was a big shift from the medical academic stuff I was doing but I had enough mental flexibility to adapt to the different drugs they were developing.” But since childhood, Doug’s passion was writing. “We didn’t have TV, so I listened to a radio program for kids called Secret Island. I also used my imagination and would make up story after story.” Tenacious as ever, Doug became a regular at the Remuera library, Auckland and his reading improved. He notes that an active imagination is very good for the brain. “But I never stopped wanting to write.” And in recent years, he has hit the ground running.

“I just got on with it. Didn’t fuss.”

At age 70, Doug realised his dream and began a career as an author. He has since published two non-fiction adult books, Aging for Beginners and Ageing Well, and 11 children’s books. He lights up while discussing the adventures of his teenage protagonist Tom Hassler. And he always has a couple of stories running through his head. “It helps me get to sleep. I lock myself into a story, engage with it, and write a little more in my head. I always sleep well.”

So, what does a day in the life of an octogenarian look like? Well, Doug never retired. He’s a board member, corporate advisor, speaker, podcaster, author, ageing specialist, and holds a wealth of knowledge. As he says, “it’s an extraordinary opportunity to grow older”. At 84, he wakes each morning with purpose. “I read a lot because that requires brain engagement more than passive TV watching. I’m interested in international politics, so I follow that closely online. And I read a handful of medical journals each month to keep up to date with progress.” And when he has time to spare, “I check in on the New Yorker and Washington Post to keep up to date with the parts of the world where I used to live”.