This was the case for Warren Davies, a former dairy farmer turned motivational speaker.
Like many other farmers, he suffered through floods and droughts on top of other stresses in his life — and it eventually led to his mental health spiralling out of control.
With a lot of factors in play, the journey wasn’t easy for Warren.
But it was through these struggles that he learnt resilience, persistence and determination — three words that now echo as his mantra.
Now a motivational speaker, Warren often travels the country encouraging people to speak out about their mental health and stay strong in times of crisis, as he shares his major mental health lessons along the way.
“My top three lessons that I learnt about mental health, is firstly communication is key,” Warren said.
“Communicating how you're feeling, what's stressing you, what challenges you're facing and sharing that with the people around you and with your support network is important.
“Stay connected to your community and don’t isolate yourself. Isolation around mental health is you know, the biggest killer. Like once we start isolating ourselves, it becomes a real uphill battle because you disconnect yourself from your community.
“My third lesson was seeking help, you know, particularly around my mental health.
“When I first reached out around about my mental health, I probably didn't treat it seriously enough, didn't dedicate enough time to it, and I realised the biggest asset in my farming business and really my biggest personal asset apart from my family is me and I needed to dedicate a bit more time to my mental health because if I wasn’t travelling okay, I was no use to anyone.”
The other issue that still stands with mental health, especially in men, is the stigma that comes with being open and talking about your struggles with others.
But that doesn’t mean mental health shouldn’t be a discussion you have with your loved ones.
Warren said the best way to get around this stigma was to make your close support network aware of your struggles before things get bad.
“I think that's really important to have those plans in place as that breaks down that stigma because, even though it's not the real tough conversation, you’re already having conversations around mental health and that just opens the door for you.
“The stigma is reducing but it's still there and regardless of the fact, it's still really hard to reach out for help, particularly when you've already spiralled out of control.”
To get in contact with Warren or to learn more about his story, find him at: www.theunbreakablefarmer.com.au
If you or anyone you know needs support, find help at Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or Lifeline on 131 114.