September 28, 2023 • 31 mins
Mental Health Awareness Month (October) encourages all of us to think about our mental health and wellbeing.
In this episode of On Side, we talk about mental health, the impact and how we can make mental health and wellbeing a priority in sport. We are joined by former ABC sports broadcaster and mental health advocate, Craig Hamilton, and Georgia Ridler, Sport Integrity Australia's consulting Mental Health Advisor.
Craig talks about his own mental health battles, which manifested at the peak of his career as he was preparing to be part of the ABC commentary team for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
“It changed my life significantly because I went into hospital with a manic episode and I came out of hospital with a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and therefore had been diagnosed at that point with a mental illness,” Craig says.
“It changed the way I had to live my life and the choices I made, the decisions I made and my lifestyle.”
Mental health does not discriminate, he says, and has impacted high-profile sports stars including Wally Lewis, Andrew Johns, Nathan Thompson and Wayne Schwass.
“It doesn't matter how good you are, your ability has got nothing to do with it.”
He also talks about the release of his documentary The Promise that aims to spark a conversation, an action and a solution for mental health and suicide prevention. Among those featured are sporting legends Wayne Bennett, Tim Tszyu, Paul Harragon and Joe Williams and media personality Jessica Rowe.
We also speak to Georgia Ridler, Sport Integrity Australia’s consulting Mental Health Advisor.
Georgia has been a leader in mental health and sport over the past 20 years and was the Olympic Psychologist for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
She says the conversation around mental health in a sporting context is changing.
“I think the conversation is certainly open and people may not be getting it perfect yet. We're all human, but I think it's a more open conversation for athletes and staff, which is fantastic, and I think it will only become more open,” she says.
She discusses the triggers for athletes, whether it being anxiety from being away from home, travelling, expectations, injuries, as well as the conflicting values in an elite sporting environment, the added distractions an athlete today faces and how to build resilience.
Ridler says if a high-performance culture is engrained in the sport, it has benefits in the field of play.
“If culture is built well and there is a strong focus on wellbeing, then typically the work is done, particularly if we're focusing on an athlete,” she says. “Typically … if the person feels very supported, that means that then when they go into those high-performance environments, high pressure moments, they can actually just focus on performing in the moment and that's the ideal situation.
“That's always the trick of being a high performing athlete at the top. It's a matter of being able to put all of the things into place before that moment of performance and then be able to just focus on what's necessary.”
It is important to look after your mental health and wellbeing and seek support if you need it.
If this podcast has triggered you in any way, or if you, or someone you know, is in immediate danger, please call 000, visit your nearest hospital emergency, or call a crisis helpline.
You can call: LIFELINE on 13 11 14 or BEYOND BLUE on 1300 224 636.
Support the show: https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:12):
Welcome to onside, the official podcast of Sport Integrity Australia.
Our mission is to protect the integrity of sport and
the health and welfare of those who participate in Australian sport.
S2 (00:28):
Hello and welcome to one side I'm Tim Gavel. October
is Mental Health Awareness Month, encouraging all of us to
think about our mental health and well-being, regardless of whether
we may have a lived experience of mental illness or not.
It also gives us the opportunity to understand the importance
of good mental health in our everyday lives, and encourages
(00:49):
help seeking behaviors when needed. Today, we'll talk about mental health,
the impact, and how we can make mental health and
well-being a priority in sport. We'll be joined by former
ABC sports broadcaster and mental health advocate Craig Hamilton and
Georgia Riddler, Sport Integrity Australia's consulting mental health advisor. Firstly
(01:10):
to Craig Hamilton, the former ABC sports broadcaster best known
as a member of the grandstand rugby league commentary team.
He's worked on Grand Finals, State of Origin series and
a number of test matches. He's also one of Australia's
leading mental health advocates, believes that good mental health and
good physical health go hand in hand and are integral
in achieving overall wellbeing and sharing his story and experiences
(01:33):
of living with bipolar disorder. He's written two books and
Craig offers hope and motivation to others. He's also got
a documentary out at the moment portraying his journey with
bipolar disorder. The film is called The Promise and Craig
joins us right now. Craig, um, it has been a
fair journey, hasn't it?
S3 (01:50):
Sure has. Tim. Good afternoon. It's been a it's been
a long while, I suppose, in the making this documentary.
But I've been, as you rightly say, on the, on
the scene of mental health advocacy for over 20 years now.
And it's something I'm very passionate about. And I'll continue to,
to be on that bandwagon because it's very important and
(02:14):
I know I can make a difference in that area.
S2 (02:16):
One of your skills as a sports broadcaster? I know
from your time working with ABC, particularly on the sideline
with the likes of David Morrow, Peter Wilkins, Warren Ryan
is your ability to plain speak. And I guess as
a former coal miner, you came into sports broadcasting later
in life. And I guess part of your gift is
that you can explain things quite simply. Is that how
(02:39):
you see it?
S3 (02:41):
Yeah, I do. I think it was a real bonus
for me coming into broadcasting late in that I had
some life experience and some other work, uh, background besides broadcasting.
I'd grown up on a farm in the Hunter Valley, so.
And I was milking cows when I was 15 years
of age and did my high school there, and then
(03:01):
worked in a coal mine for 16 years. And by
the back end of that coal mining career, I had
already started doing some part time broadcasting. But I was
very true to who I was from day one. When
I got behind a microphone, I, um, I didn't want
to change the way I spoke. I didn't want to change, uh, anything,
(03:23):
you know? And I'd done enough sport and myself, through
my youth and through my teens and and into my
20s and 30s, that I knew the lingo. I knew
how to describe a sport and paint a picture, which
is what we do in, in radio, of course. Um,
so that part of it came very easily to me,
(03:46):
and I certainly wasn't about to change anything.
S2 (03:49):
Part of your journey, of course, uh, is 2000, and
you're preparing for your dream job to be part of
the ABC commentary team for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Tell us what happened then.
S3 (04:03):
Well, in the first part of that year, uh, of 2000,
leading into the Olympics, I got very depressed. I'd never
been depressed before, and it got to be very serious.
It was a slow burn, if you like. I started
the year in January that year feeling just not. Not well.
I couldn't put my finger on what it was. I,
(04:27):
you know, I had some minor symptoms of not sleeping, of,
you know, not eating, um, you know, the way I
would normally eat, I my confidence levels were down, my
concentration was impaired, all these little things were happening. And
then as time wore on, anxiety came into the picture.
And then I was stressed all the time. And I
(04:49):
had some, uh, negative thinking and and this was going
on for months and months, uh, you know, probably six months.
And I chose not to do anything about it, which
was the biggest mistake I made. I didn't talk to
anyone about it, let alone go and get some help.
And things got very serious. And I got to the
point where I was really getting very despairing about the
(05:11):
fact that I wasn't going to get better and I
wasn't going to recover from this, and it was actually
just going to get worse. And I got to the
point where I was suicidal, and from a point where
I'd been just eight months before that was, um, you know,
literally everything in my life was good. And so it
was a big shock to be in this place. And
(05:33):
then just on the eve of the Sydney Olympics, I'd,
I had got some treatment for depression. I'd been put
on some antidepressant medication. But what that had done underlying
it all was a bipolar disorder that no one knew. Um,
I had. And the antidepressant medication flipped the mood from
(05:54):
a depression into a manic high. And that's what happened
just on the eve of the Sydney Olympics. And I
ended up hospitalized.
S2 (06:02):
Yes. And you didn't end up going, of course, to
the Sydney Olympics as part of the ABC commentary team.
And diagnosed with bipolar disorder. How did that change your life?
S3 (06:14):
Well, it changed my life significantly because I went into
hospital with a manic episode and I came out of
hospital with a diagnosis of bipolar one disorder, and therefore
had been diagnosed at that point with a mental illness.
And it's described as a severe mental illness. It requires, um,
you know, strict management. It requires medication. Uh, the medication
(06:39):
was changed in hospital from an antidepressant to a mood
stabilizing medication just to keep the moods in the in
the middle rather than depressed or manic and largely not always,
but largely across the the last 20 years, my health's
been very good. But, uh, it changed the way I
(07:03):
had to live my life and and the, the choices
I made and the decisions I made around, uh, my lifestyle.
You know, I had to put priorities around sleep. I
had to reduce the amount of alcohol I consumed. I
had to eat better. Um, I had to be conscious
of a good work life balance, you know, learn how
(07:23):
to identify and moderate, uh, stress. All of those things
had to be be done. And, uh, you know, I
read a lot about it, Tim. I, you know, I
was a sponge for information, and I needed to be
because what I had was a very, um, challenging illness, which, uh,
if it was going to be managed properly, was going
(07:45):
to take some work. And thankfully, uh, largely that's been
the case. I've, um, and that's why I've been able
to advocate has been because I've been, well, most of
the time.
S4 (07:56):
Yes.
S2 (07:57):
You've written two books. You've got the film portraying your
life at the moment, The Promise. I guess part of
it is that there has been this stigma about mental
health and about talking about it. What you're trying to
do is start a conversation to get people talking about it,
so that we can prevent so many suicides that we
have at the moment. In fact, it's what, twice the
number of road deaths in Australia, people committing suicide. So
(08:19):
what you're trying to do is start a conversation as
part of the prevention process.
S3 (08:24):
Well, not only start a conversation, it's more than that
in this documentary that we've got out now called The Promise.
It's because my view and it's been this way for
a long time. There's a lot of awareness out now
in the community. There's a lot of information. We've had
a lot of education around, uh, mental illness and around, um,
(08:47):
the potential for suicides. The suicide rate is double the
road toll every year in this country. On average, there'll
be nine suicides in Australia today. So the numbers are,
you know, are horrific in many ways. This documentary, it's
a call to action. And because we do want to
make a difference in the suicide prevention an area that's
(09:11):
the point of difference. And to make the promise. And
you know, I don't want to give the whole thing away.
I want you to go and see the documentary, Tim,
is to, um, to make a commitment to actually make
a commitment to those around you or, you know, to
a friend, um, to a family member, to a work colleague,
(09:32):
to a health professional, that you will seek help. You
will talk about something, you will, um, reach out and
you make a promise. You make a promise to do it.
So when you make that commitment, I think there's some
power in that. And that's the, the premise of the
of the documentary.
S2 (09:53):
And part of it too, is Craig, uh, you know,
correct me if I'm wrong, but part of what you're
trying to do is change the way that people perceive
mental illness. Uh, outside the family, I guess. And outside
in the workplace, you want to, you know, change things
in terms of perception?
S3 (10:12):
Yeah, I do absolutely. I think there's been a there's
been a view for a long time that someone who
has a mental illness can't function, that someone who has
a mental illness, uh, is unproductive, is, is going to
be put on the shelf, unemployable, uh, too difficult to manage, uh,
basically a basket case that that has been the view
(10:36):
for a long time. And I think telling my story, um,
and other people who, you know, have a profile and
who are successful and who are able to manage an
illness and continue on and flourish in life is important
because people can can see that and realize, well, look,
I have bipolar disorder and he's got bipolar disorder. And
(11:00):
if I, uh, you know, there's there's a degree of
hope and encouragement and inspiration that comes from that. And, um,
I think that's the thing that is important because we're
talking here about a tricky illness. I mean, it's a
difficult illness to manage, and there are a lot of
things that can be done to, um, from a lifestyle
(11:24):
point of view, rather than just medication. Medication is very important.
But from a lifestyle point of view, uh, these things
all make a difference. They make a huge difference to
somebody's wellbeing and exercise is in there as part of
it as well. It's, you know, you don't have to
train like an Olympic athlete, but you do need to move.
You need to do something. Uh, it's all physical health.
(11:47):
And mental health really do go hand in hand.
S4 (11:52):
Just on.
S2 (11:52):
That in terms of sport, because we look at sportspeople
and we think, well, you know, superhuman, capable of doing anything.
But there are frailties there. And what you've been able
to do is get sportspeople to talk about this subject, which, uh,
isn't often talked about in sport because it is seen
as a weakness. How have you been able to do that?
S3 (12:13):
I think the more stories that are told, um, makes
it easier for others to actually share their stories. I
think that's a big part of it because the secrecy
has not worked. The stigma has been, um, counterproductive, where
people have been too embarrassed to speak, they've been ashamed
to speak. And, look, I was in that situation as well.
(12:33):
I didn't want anybody to know, uh, about my story
very early in the piece. I didn't want anyone to
know that I'd had acute depression. I didn't want anyone
to know I'd had a manic episode, or ended up
in a psychiatric hospital, or being diagnosed with a bipolar disorder.
I wanted no one to to know, for all the
(12:54):
reasons that so many people and men particularly don't get help,
because it is that, you know, that that stigma across many,
many centuries, not not in the last ten years or
20 years or 50 years, it's been going on forever. Um,
so I think the more people who are prepared to
speak and there are there are a lot of high
(13:17):
profile Australian sportsmen and women who've now spoken out openly
about their battles. Um, Andrew Johns is a classic case.
Andrew has bipolar disorder. Uh, Wally Lewis has spoken about
his battles with depression. Um, there. You know, Nathan Thompson
is very good AFL player. A number of years ago, um, uh,
(13:40):
has spoken out. Wayne Swanson is another one from AFL. Uh,
you know, these, um, these examples prove that it doesn't
matter how successful you are, it doesn't matter how good
you are. Um, your ability has got nothing to do
with it. You can be you can suffer the same
(14:03):
debilitating mental health problems as anybody else.
S2 (14:08):
And you have some high profile support in your quest
to make it part of the everyday conversation, to break
down barriers, etc., particularly on the sports fields. But what
happens is, I guess people listen to high profile people
in sport, uh, probably more than they would do if,
you know, a doctor or whatever was talking to them.
(14:29):
So you've got people like Wayne Bennett, Paul Harrigan, Tim Zoo,
Joe Williams, uh, as part of this film, The Promise.
How important was it, do you think, to have sportspeople
talking to the general community so that it breaks down
the barriers and people listen to them?
S3 (14:45):
Well, I think incredibly important. The the documentary is broken
down into three, I suppose it's a multi-layered documentary and, um,
it's 62 minutes long, so it's not something you go
to the cinema and you watch for 2.5 hours. It's
a pretty compact, in-your-face 62 minute documentary. But yeah, we
(15:08):
have Wayne Bennett in it. We have Tim Zoo in it. Um,
you know, Joe Williams is in there, Paul Harrigan. Now,
what I think is the key for those people, and
Jessica Rowe is in there as well. Media personality, all
well known Australians. The fact that they're able to speak
and articulate the issues around mental health with people that
(15:31):
they have known and and Wayne has coached players that
have had mental health issues. Joe Williams speaks openly about
his own challenges. Tim Zoo we went to his gym
in Rockdale in Sydney and spoke to him and he, he, uh,
told us about the people who come into the gym
(15:51):
and he said, you can just see that they are drained,
that they are flat, that they are low, and they
are using boxing when they train there as a way
to lift their mood. And that's the link between physical
and mental health. Now they've all spoken. And they were
all very generous with their time. I remember ringing Wayne Bennett, um,
(16:14):
just out of the blue. And I've known Wayne for
25 years, and I just rang him one day and
I said, look, I'm making this documentary. It's on mental health. Uh,
will you be involved? Will you be interviewed? And he
said straight away, yes. He didn't even need to think
about it. So, um, and then, of course, there's the,
(16:35):
there's the personal stories, which, you know, really sort of
close out the, the, um, the documentary where people talk
about family members who have been lost to suicide. So
I think you're getting and you've got my story in
there as well. So, uh, it's hopefully going to, to
touch people in many ways.
S2 (16:54):
Just as a final question to people listening to this,
how do you recognize people with a problem? How can
you help, do you think?
S3 (17:03):
Well, that's, uh, that's a very difficult question to answer
because we're talking about a complex subject here. If it
was easy to identify mental health problems, and if it
was easy for people who had mental health problems to
identify them within themselves and go and get some, some help,
(17:26):
then half the problem would be dealt with there and then,
then you'd be dealing with actually managing the condition. But
the I think the more stories that are told, you
can see there are symptoms, you know, and I touched
on those. There's social withdrawal. There's uh, there is um, um,
(17:47):
concentration issues, sleep problems. Um, there is your confidence is down,
your appetite is affected. You have stress, you have anxiety.
All these things are are, uh, indicative of a problem
in the mental health area that needs to be addressed.
And then in, in, um, for someone who's looking at
(18:10):
a friend or a family member and going, well, hang
on there a bit more withdrawn than they normally are, uh,
they might be self-medicating more than normal. When I say self-medicating,
I mean using more drugs, more alcohol. Or they might
be regular users of drugs and alcohol. That can often
be the sign that moods are needing to be, um,
(18:33):
I suppose, managed. And that's the thing. They're all, um,
it's very subtle, Tim. It can be very subtle, but
I think the more education we have and we can
actually paint a picture and people can go, well, yeah,
that might be me, or that might be a family member,
or that might be a friend, or that might be
a work colleague.
S2 (18:54):
Absolutely right, Craig. It's been great to have a chat.
All the best with the film. And and thanks very
much for the work that you do in the community.
S3 (19:02):
Good on you, Tim. I appreciate your support.
S1 (19:06):
You're listening to onside, the official podcast of Sport Integrity Australia.
S2 (19:14):
Welcome back to onside. Joining us now is Georgia Ridler,
Sport Integrity Australia's consulting mental health advisor. And Georgia has
been a leader in mental health and sport over the
past 20 years and was the Olympic psychologist for the
Tokyo 2020 games. And Georgia's role at Sport Integrity Australia
is to provide expert advice on and a mental health
(19:35):
lens on staff development and support, as well as review
and advise on current processes and guidelines that pertain to
integrity and doping violations. Georgia, welcome to onside. Do you
think there has been a change in how we talk
about mental health? Is it far more open now expressing
that we might have a problem?
S5 (19:55):
Absolutely. I think the conversation is certainly open. And um,
people may not be getting it perfect yet. We're all human,
but I think it's a more open conversation for athletes
and staff, which is fantastic. And, um, and I think
it will only become more open as we go.
S2 (20:12):
Yes. Because in sport sometimes it is seen as a weakness.
And I guess we're trying to overcome that barrier, aren't we?
And change the conversation so that it's seen as a
form of strength to actually talk about it?
S5 (20:24):
Absolutely. Plus, you know, I think people are really beginning
to accept and acknowledge that athletes are humans first, people
first and athletes second. And so, you know, we really
need to focus on the human and their wellbeing. And
an athlete who is well, typically performs well. So we
really need to bear that in mind.
S2 (20:43):
Tell us about your background as well as your role
here at Sport Integrity Australia.
S5 (20:48):
Yeah, sure. So I've been a sports psychologist in um
in the Olympic sports for the past 20, 25 years.
So across about four, 4 or 5 Olympic cycles, um,
I've worked with Australian cycling was my first big gig. Um,
moving then onto Australian women's water polo team and then
onto the Australian swim. For six years, looking at culture
(21:09):
and legacy pieces around culture development.
S2 (21:13):
How important is it, do you think the culture development
aspect of sport, because it seems to be so important
these days to get the culture right, so there is
support for everybody within a sporting team?
S5 (21:24):
Absolutely. And look, we've been talking about that a little
bit in Sport Integrity Australia as well. You know looking
at um self care versus group care. And group care
is around the need for a culture to, you know,
embrace the concept of wellbeing and work together to enhance
each other's wellbeing, which then enhances people's performance and enhances
(21:45):
individual wellbeing, which is um, yeah, which is a real benefit. So,
you know, I always say that, you know, our culture
reflects the wellbeing which reflects people's ability to perform and
they all integrate together.
S2 (21:58):
Do you think, though, that sometimes those values go out
the window when you're at the start line and you're
competing for a gold medal, where suddenly that when it
all costs mentality infiltrates the good part of your brain
and and that culture that you were talking about goes
out the window.
S5 (22:15):
Look, it can happen. It certainly can happen. But look,
if culture is built well and there is a strong
focus on wellbeing, then typically the work is done, particularly
for if we're focusing on an athlete. Um, typically it
means that, you know, the wellbeing has been focused on
looked after. The person feels very supported. And that means
that then when they go into those high performance environments,
(22:38):
high pressure moments, they don't have to worry about culture.
People behind them support anything like that. They can actually
just focus on performing in the moment. And that's the
ideal situation.
S2 (22:50):
Yes, because there are many contributors aren't there to to
mental health issues, whether it being anxiety from being away
from home travel, uh, other people in your team, um, expectations, injuries, uh, concussion.
So there are a lot of things you've got to
deal with as a sports person. And sometimes you just
want to focus on on performing well.
S5 (23:11):
Absolutely. And look, that's always the trick of being, um,
a high performing athlete at the top. Um, it's a
matter of being able to put all of the things
into place before that moment of performance and, um, and
then be able to just focus on what's, what's necessary,
you know, and that takes that takes practice, that takes, um,
organization that takes usually a bit of coaching from, um,
(23:35):
from a range of different people to be able to
have systems in place, to be able to perform at
your best.
S2 (23:40):
There are conflicting values to a certain degree, though, aren't there? Because, um,
on one hand, you've got the expectation that you have
and people around you, and there might be higher expectations
from others talking about gold medal tallies, etc.. So there are,
to a certain degree, conflicting mindsets when it comes to sport.
(24:02):
How do you manage something like that?
S5 (24:04):
Um, yeah, it's a really good point. And um, look,
I think something that we've been talking about a lot
in sport over probably the last 5 to 10 years
now is around the concept that high performance sport brings
with it a range of different experiences that are not
always pleasant, actually quite uncomfortable most of the time. And
(24:25):
when an athlete can get into a position where they
understand and acknowledge and accept that the environment is what
the environment is, then there's a greater chance they can
move through that and actually focus on performance. So it
really is about accepting that a high performance environment is
full of distractions and noise and pressures and all of
(24:47):
these things and these emotional and physiological reactions that we have.
And actually that's normal for high performance. And the sooner
athletes can move to a position where they accept that
that's normal and can stop trying to fight against all
of these distractions, but just let it be and still
focus on what they're there for the greater chance they
(25:08):
have success.
S2 (25:09):
Well, this current generation is dealing with far more distractions
than it used to be the case, because back in
the old days, you used to be worried about having
your parents tickets or the family pressure or, um, you know,
media expectations, supporters expectations. Now you're dealing with gamblers who
are betting on your sporting events. You've also got social
media pressures, amongst others. Um, so it's almost overwhelming at times.
(25:32):
I would imagine for a young person coming through at
an elite level playing sport.
S5 (25:37):
Yeah, look, for our younger people. It is it is
quite overwhelming. And, you know, we do often work with
them to, um, think through what are all of those
distractions and out of those distractions, what's in my control
because some of them are within our control and what's
well and truly outside my control. And, you know, those
athletes have focused their time and energy on the things
(25:58):
that are outside of their control, get completely distracted, and
often don't perform at their best. So the key is
to really be focused on what is. Within my control
and and stay focused on that and be able to
then execute under pressure.
S4 (26:13):
And build.
S2 (26:14):
Resilience too, because, um, athletes need to be bulletproof or
appear to be bulletproof anyway, in competition and really focused
and totally focused on on what they're doing, their mindset
has to be 100%. How do you build that resistance?
Do you do scenario testing with athletes at all?
S5 (26:33):
Yeah. Look across a range of sports. Um, we do do, uh,
like what we'd call what if scenarios. So, you know,
what if this happened or and we don't just talk
about it, but sometimes even on camps, we'll actually reenact
it or, you know, put it into play. The bus's
broken down. Where? 15 minute walk. Still to the Olympic village.
Your race starts in 35 minutes. What do you do? Um, so,
(26:57):
you know, we talk about a range of those things to,
to think through what's plan A, plan B and so
that it's actually familiar in case the situation happens. And,
you know, from my experience of being at an Olympics,
anything and everything can happen and does happen. And so
those athletes who are more resilient, who are able to
(27:18):
pivot or adapt or be flexible, often find that they
can move through and just accept that this is part
of an Olympic Games and then return their focus to
what they're here for.
S2 (27:30):
Yes, I remember watching sporting teams preparing for the Olympics
with loudspeakers at the side of their grounds, with um
opposition crowd support blaring in the speakers to try and
put the players off even though they're in the middle
of nowhere. Uh, yes. As a scenario.
S5 (27:48):
Yes. Yeah. Look. And lots of those scenarios have been
used over time. Absolutely. But you know as well, resilience
building doesn't start at the end. You know, at that
podium level, it really starts right back at the beginning.
It starts with parents. It starts with junior um and
development coaches just creating opportunities for kids to have to
(28:09):
build resilience. And, you know, some of those things are
about saying no or delayed gratification and all those little
things that incrementally build resilience over time and honestly have
a have a significant impact down the track.
S2 (28:24):
A lot of athletes do have an obsessive personality, so
they'll want to overtrain they'll want to possibly go that
one step. They believe their opposition isn't doing. Or how
do you manage something like that? Because that can lead,
I would imagine, to mental health issues when those expectations
aren't met.
S5 (28:42):
Yeah. Look it can be mental health and also physical health.
I know the physios nowadays are putting a lot of
focus on training load, like the physical training load and
trying to manage athletes expectations of what they can and
can't do. Um, I think what's come to the forefront
the last probably 5 or 6 years has been around
athlete recovery, and that recovery is actually having a more
(29:05):
significant impact on athletes ability to maintain or enhance strength, um,
and maintain or enhance skills. So there's a big focus
now on sleep and downtime and using that effectively to um, yeah,
to maximize recovery.
S2 (29:22):
Just to wrap it up, it sounds like the real
focus here is on the simple things. Uh, forget about
the complications. Just focus on on what you can control.
S5 (29:31):
That's absolutely right. And I think sometimes the simple things
are easier to focus on. We get them right. And
then those little one percenters add up over time. And
before you know it, you're at the 100%.
S2 (29:44):
Yes, we tend to overcomplicate things these days too. Georgia,
thanks very much for joining us on on site. It's
been great.
S5 (29:50):
You're welcome. Thanks for having me. See you.
S2 (29:55):
That was Georgia Riddler, Sport Integrity Australia's consulting mental health adviser.
Where the conversation goes will depend largely on what you say.
It's important to look after your mental health and wellbeing
and seek support if you need it. If this podcast
has triggered you in any way, or if you or
someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 000.
(30:16):
Visit your nearest hospital emergency or call a crisis helpline.
You can call lifeline on 131114 or beyondblue on one
302 4636. Well, thanks for joining onside. We'll have another
episode shortly.
S1 (30:36):
You've been listening to onside, the official podcast of Sport
Integrity Australia. Send in your podcast questions or suggestions to
media at Sport Integrity. Gov.au. For more information on Sport
Integrity Australia, please visit our website. Sport integrity gov.au or
(30:58):
check out our Clean Sport app.
Welcome to onside, the official podcast of Sport Integrity Australia.
Our mission is to protect the integrity of sport and
the health and welfare of those who participate in Australian sport.
S2 (00:28):
Hello and welcome to one side I'm Tim Gavel. October
is Mental Health Awareness Month, encouraging all of us to
think about our mental health and well-being, regardless of whether
we may have a lived experience of mental illness or not.
It also gives us the opportunity to understand the importance
of good mental health in our everyday lives, and encourages
(00:49):
help seeking behaviors when needed. Today, we'll talk about mental health,
the impact, and how we can make mental health and
well-being a priority in sport. We'll be joined by former
ABC sports broadcaster and mental health advocate Craig Hamilton and
Georgia Riddler, Sport Integrity Australia's consulting mental health advisor. Firstly
(01:10):
to Craig Hamilton, the former ABC sports broadcaster best known
as a member of the grandstand rugby league commentary team.
He's worked on Grand Finals, State of Origin series and
a number of test matches. He's also one of Australia's
leading mental health advocates, believes that good mental health and
good physical health go hand in hand and are integral
in achieving overall wellbeing and sharing his story and experiences
(01:33):
of living with bipolar disorder. He's written two books and
Craig offers hope and motivation to others. He's also got
a documentary out at the moment portraying his journey with
bipolar disorder. The film is called The Promise and Craig
joins us right now. Craig, um, it has been a
fair journey, hasn't it?
S3 (01:50):
Sure has. Tim. Good afternoon. It's been a it's been
a long while, I suppose, in the making this documentary.
But I've been, as you rightly say, on the, on
the scene of mental health advocacy for over 20 years now.
And it's something I'm very passionate about. And I'll continue to,
to be on that bandwagon because it's very important and
(02:14):
I know I can make a difference in that area.
S2 (02:16):
One of your skills as a sports broadcaster? I know
from your time working with ABC, particularly on the sideline
with the likes of David Morrow, Peter Wilkins, Warren Ryan
is your ability to plain speak. And I guess as
a former coal miner, you came into sports broadcasting later
in life. And I guess part of your gift is
that you can explain things quite simply. Is that how
(02:39):
you see it?
S3 (02:41):
Yeah, I do. I think it was a real bonus
for me coming into broadcasting late in that I had
some life experience and some other work, uh, background besides broadcasting.
I'd grown up on a farm in the Hunter Valley, so.
And I was milking cows when I was 15 years
of age and did my high school there, and then
(03:01):
worked in a coal mine for 16 years. And by
the back end of that coal mining career, I had
already started doing some part time broadcasting. But I was
very true to who I was from day one. When
I got behind a microphone, I, um, I didn't want
to change the way I spoke. I didn't want to change, uh, anything,
(03:23):
you know? And I'd done enough sport and myself, through
my youth and through my teens and and into my
20s and 30s, that I knew the lingo. I knew
how to describe a sport and paint a picture, which
is what we do in, in radio, of course. Um,
so that part of it came very easily to me,
(03:46):
and I certainly wasn't about to change anything.
S2 (03:49):
Part of your journey, of course, uh, is 2000, and
you're preparing for your dream job to be part of
the ABC commentary team for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Tell us what happened then.
S3 (04:03):
Well, in the first part of that year, uh, of 2000,
leading into the Olympics, I got very depressed. I'd never
been depressed before, and it got to be very serious.
It was a slow burn, if you like. I started
the year in January that year feeling just not. Not well.
I couldn't put my finger on what it was. I,
(04:27):
you know, I had some minor symptoms of not sleeping, of,
you know, not eating, um, you know, the way I
would normally eat, I my confidence levels were down, my
concentration was impaired, all these little things were happening. And
then as time wore on, anxiety came into the picture.
And then I was stressed all the time. And I
(04:49):
had some, uh, negative thinking and and this was going
on for months and months, uh, you know, probably six months.
And I chose not to do anything about it, which
was the biggest mistake I made. I didn't talk to
anyone about it, let alone go and get some help.
And things got very serious. And I got to the
point where I was really getting very despairing about the
(05:11):
fact that I wasn't going to get better and I
wasn't going to recover from this, and it was actually
just going to get worse. And I got to the
point where I was suicidal, and from a point where
I'd been just eight months before that was, um, you know,
literally everything in my life was good. And so it
was a big shock to be in this place. And
(05:33):
then just on the eve of the Sydney Olympics, I'd,
I had got some treatment for depression. I'd been put
on some antidepressant medication. But what that had done underlying
it all was a bipolar disorder that no one knew. Um,
I had. And the antidepressant medication flipped the mood from
(05:54):
a depression into a manic high. And that's what happened
just on the eve of the Sydney Olympics. And I
ended up hospitalized.
S2 (06:02):
Yes. And you didn't end up going, of course, to
the Sydney Olympics as part of the ABC commentary team.
And diagnosed with bipolar disorder. How did that change your life?
S3 (06:14):
Well, it changed my life significantly because I went into
hospital with a manic episode and I came out of
hospital with a diagnosis of bipolar one disorder, and therefore
had been diagnosed at that point with a mental illness.
And it's described as a severe mental illness. It requires, um,
you know, strict management. It requires medication. Uh, the medication
(06:39):
was changed in hospital from an antidepressant to a mood
stabilizing medication just to keep the moods in the in
the middle rather than depressed or manic and largely not always,
but largely across the the last 20 years, my health's
been very good. But, uh, it changed the way I
(07:03):
had to live my life and and the, the choices
I made and the decisions I made around, uh, my lifestyle.
You know, I had to put priorities around sleep. I
had to reduce the amount of alcohol I consumed. I
had to eat better. Um, I had to be conscious
of a good work life balance, you know, learn how
(07:23):
to identify and moderate, uh, stress. All of those things
had to be be done. And, uh, you know, I
read a lot about it, Tim. I, you know, I
was a sponge for information, and I needed to be
because what I had was a very, um, challenging illness, which, uh,
if it was going to be managed properly, was going
(07:45):
to take some work. And thankfully, uh, largely that's been
the case. I've, um, and that's why I've been able
to advocate has been because I've been, well, most of
the time.
S4 (07:56):
Yes.
S2 (07:57):
You've written two books. You've got the film portraying your
life at the moment, The Promise. I guess part of
it is that there has been this stigma about mental
health and about talking about it. What you're trying to
do is start a conversation to get people talking about it,
so that we can prevent so many suicides that we
have at the moment. In fact, it's what, twice the
number of road deaths in Australia, people committing suicide. So
(08:19):
what you're trying to do is start a conversation as
part of the prevention process.
S3 (08:24):
Well, not only start a conversation, it's more than that
in this documentary that we've got out now called The Promise.
It's because my view and it's been this way for
a long time. There's a lot of awareness out now
in the community. There's a lot of information. We've had
a lot of education around, uh, mental illness and around, um,
(08:47):
the potential for suicides. The suicide rate is double the
road toll every year in this country. On average, there'll
be nine suicides in Australia today. So the numbers are,
you know, are horrific in many ways. This documentary, it's
a call to action. And because we do want to
make a difference in the suicide prevention an area that's
(09:11):
the point of difference. And to make the promise. And
you know, I don't want to give the whole thing away.
I want you to go and see the documentary, Tim,
is to, um, to make a commitment to actually make
a commitment to those around you or, you know, to
a friend, um, to a family member, to a work colleague,
(09:32):
to a health professional, that you will seek help. You
will talk about something, you will, um, reach out and
you make a promise. You make a promise to do it.
So when you make that commitment, I think there's some
power in that. And that's the, the premise of the
of the documentary.
S2 (09:53):
And part of it too, is Craig, uh, you know,
correct me if I'm wrong, but part of what you're
trying to do is change the way that people perceive
mental illness. Uh, outside the family, I guess. And outside
in the workplace, you want to, you know, change things
in terms of perception?
S3 (10:12):
Yeah, I do absolutely. I think there's been a there's
been a view for a long time that someone who
has a mental illness can't function, that someone who has
a mental illness, uh, is unproductive, is, is going to
be put on the shelf, unemployable, uh, too difficult to manage, uh,
basically a basket case that that has been the view
(10:36):
for a long time. And I think telling my story, um,
and other people who, you know, have a profile and
who are successful and who are able to manage an
illness and continue on and flourish in life is important
because people can can see that and realize, well, look,
I have bipolar disorder and he's got bipolar disorder. And
(11:00):
if I, uh, you know, there's there's a degree of
hope and encouragement and inspiration that comes from that. And, um,
I think that's the thing that is important because we're
talking here about a tricky illness. I mean, it's a
difficult illness to manage, and there are a lot of
things that can be done to, um, from a lifestyle
(11:24):
point of view, rather than just medication. Medication is very important.
But from a lifestyle point of view, uh, these things
all make a difference. They make a huge difference to
somebody's wellbeing and exercise is in there as part of
it as well. It's, you know, you don't have to
train like an Olympic athlete, but you do need to move.
You need to do something. Uh, it's all physical health.
(11:47):
And mental health really do go hand in hand.
S4 (11:52):
Just on.
S2 (11:52):
That in terms of sport, because we look at sportspeople
and we think, well, you know, superhuman, capable of doing anything.
But there are frailties there. And what you've been able
to do is get sportspeople to talk about this subject, which, uh,
isn't often talked about in sport because it is seen
as a weakness. How have you been able to do that?
S3 (12:13):
I think the more stories that are told, um, makes
it easier for others to actually share their stories. I
think that's a big part of it because the secrecy
has not worked. The stigma has been, um, counterproductive, where
people have been too embarrassed to speak, they've been ashamed
to speak. And, look, I was in that situation as well.
(12:33):
I didn't want anybody to know, uh, about my story
very early in the piece. I didn't want anyone to
know that I'd had acute depression. I didn't want anyone
to know I'd had a manic episode, or ended up
in a psychiatric hospital, or being diagnosed with a bipolar disorder.
I wanted no one to to know, for all the
(12:54):
reasons that so many people and men particularly don't get help,
because it is that, you know, that that stigma across many,
many centuries, not not in the last ten years or
20 years or 50 years, it's been going on forever. Um,
so I think the more people who are prepared to
speak and there are there are a lot of high
(13:17):
profile Australian sportsmen and women who've now spoken out openly
about their battles. Um, Andrew Johns is a classic case.
Andrew has bipolar disorder. Uh, Wally Lewis has spoken about
his battles with depression. Um, there. You know, Nathan Thompson
is very good AFL player. A number of years ago, um, uh,
(13:40):
has spoken out. Wayne Swanson is another one from AFL. Uh,
you know, these, um, these examples prove that it doesn't
matter how successful you are, it doesn't matter how good
you are. Um, your ability has got nothing to do
with it. You can be you can suffer the same
(14:03):
debilitating mental health problems as anybody else.
S2 (14:08):
And you have some high profile support in your quest
to make it part of the everyday conversation, to break
down barriers, etc., particularly on the sports fields. But what
happens is, I guess people listen to high profile people
in sport, uh, probably more than they would do if,
you know, a doctor or whatever was talking to them.
(14:29):
So you've got people like Wayne Bennett, Paul Harrigan, Tim Zoo,
Joe Williams, uh, as part of this film, The Promise.
How important was it, do you think, to have sportspeople
talking to the general community so that it breaks down
the barriers and people listen to them?
S3 (14:45):
Well, I think incredibly important. The the documentary is broken
down into three, I suppose it's a multi-layered documentary and, um,
it's 62 minutes long, so it's not something you go
to the cinema and you watch for 2.5 hours. It's
a pretty compact, in-your-face 62 minute documentary. But yeah, we
(15:08):
have Wayne Bennett in it. We have Tim Zoo in it. Um,
you know, Joe Williams is in there, Paul Harrigan. Now,
what I think is the key for those people, and
Jessica Rowe is in there as well. Media personality, all
well known Australians. The fact that they're able to speak
and articulate the issues around mental health with people that
(15:31):
they have known and and Wayne has coached players that
have had mental health issues. Joe Williams speaks openly about
his own challenges. Tim Zoo we went to his gym
in Rockdale in Sydney and spoke to him and he, he, uh,
told us about the people who come into the gym
(15:51):
and he said, you can just see that they are drained,
that they are flat, that they are low, and they
are using boxing when they train there as a way
to lift their mood. And that's the link between physical
and mental health. Now they've all spoken. And they were
all very generous with their time. I remember ringing Wayne Bennett, um,
(16:14):
just out of the blue. And I've known Wayne for
25 years, and I just rang him one day and
I said, look, I'm making this documentary. It's on mental health. Uh,
will you be involved? Will you be interviewed? And he
said straight away, yes. He didn't even need to think
about it. So, um, and then, of course, there's the,
(16:35):
there's the personal stories, which, you know, really sort of
close out the, the, um, the documentary where people talk
about family members who have been lost to suicide. So
I think you're getting and you've got my story in
there as well. So, uh, it's hopefully going to, to
touch people in many ways.
S2 (16:54):
Just as a final question to people listening to this,
how do you recognize people with a problem? How can
you help, do you think?
S3 (17:03):
Well, that's, uh, that's a very difficult question to answer
because we're talking about a complex subject here. If it
was easy to identify mental health problems, and if it
was easy for people who had mental health problems to
identify them within themselves and go and get some, some help,
(17:26):
then half the problem would be dealt with there and then,
then you'd be dealing with actually managing the condition. But
the I think the more stories that are told, you
can see there are symptoms, you know, and I touched
on those. There's social withdrawal. There's uh, there is um, um,
(17:47):
concentration issues, sleep problems. Um, there is your confidence is down,
your appetite is affected. You have stress, you have anxiety.
All these things are are, uh, indicative of a problem
in the mental health area that needs to be addressed.
And then in, in, um, for someone who's looking at
(18:10):
a friend or a family member and going, well, hang
on there a bit more withdrawn than they normally are, uh,
they might be self-medicating more than normal. When I say self-medicating,
I mean using more drugs, more alcohol. Or they might
be regular users of drugs and alcohol. That can often
be the sign that moods are needing to be, um,
(18:33):
I suppose, managed. And that's the thing. They're all, um,
it's very subtle, Tim. It can be very subtle, but
I think the more education we have and we can
actually paint a picture and people can go, well, yeah,
that might be me, or that might be a family member,
or that might be a friend, or that might be
a work colleague.
S2 (18:54):
Absolutely right, Craig. It's been great to have a chat.
All the best with the film. And and thanks very
much for the work that you do in the community.
S3 (19:02):
Good on you, Tim. I appreciate your support.
S1 (19:06):
You're listening to onside, the official podcast of Sport Integrity Australia.
S2 (19:14):
Welcome back to onside. Joining us now is Georgia Ridler,
Sport Integrity Australia's consulting mental health advisor. And Georgia has
been a leader in mental health and sport over the
past 20 years and was the Olympic psychologist for the
Tokyo 2020 games. And Georgia's role at Sport Integrity Australia
is to provide expert advice on and a mental health
(19:35):
lens on staff development and support, as well as review
and advise on current processes and guidelines that pertain to
integrity and doping violations. Georgia, welcome to onside. Do you
think there has been a change in how we talk
about mental health? Is it far more open now expressing
that we might have a problem?
S5 (19:55):
Absolutely. I think the conversation is certainly open. And um,
people may not be getting it perfect yet. We're all human,
but I think it's a more open conversation for athletes
and staff, which is fantastic. And, um, and I think
it will only become more open as we go.
S2 (20:12):
Yes. Because in sport sometimes it is seen as a weakness.
And I guess we're trying to overcome that barrier, aren't we?
And change the conversation so that it's seen as a
form of strength to actually talk about it?
S5 (20:24):
Absolutely. Plus, you know, I think people are really beginning
to accept and acknowledge that athletes are humans first, people
first and athletes second. And so, you know, we really
need to focus on the human and their wellbeing. And
an athlete who is well, typically performs well. So we
really need to bear that in mind.
S2 (20:43):
Tell us about your background as well as your role
here at Sport Integrity Australia.
S5 (20:48):
Yeah, sure. So I've been a sports psychologist in um
in the Olympic sports for the past 20, 25 years.
So across about four, 4 or 5 Olympic cycles, um,
I've worked with Australian cycling was my first big gig. Um,
moving then onto Australian women's water polo team and then
onto the Australian swim. For six years, looking at culture
(21:09):
and legacy pieces around culture development.
S2 (21:13):
How important is it, do you think the culture development
aspect of sport, because it seems to be so important
these days to get the culture right, so there is
support for everybody within a sporting team?
S5 (21:24):
Absolutely. And look, we've been talking about that a little
bit in Sport Integrity Australia as well. You know looking
at um self care versus group care. And group care
is around the need for a culture to, you know,
embrace the concept of wellbeing and work together to enhance
each other's wellbeing, which then enhances people's performance and enhances
(21:45):
individual wellbeing, which is um, yeah, which is a real benefit. So,
you know, I always say that, you know, our culture
reflects the wellbeing which reflects people's ability to perform and
they all integrate together.
S2 (21:58):
Do you think, though, that sometimes those values go out
the window when you're at the start line and you're
competing for a gold medal, where suddenly that when it
all costs mentality infiltrates the good part of your brain
and and that culture that you were talking about goes
out the window.
S5 (22:15):
Look, it can happen. It certainly can happen. But look,
if culture is built well and there is a strong
focus on wellbeing, then typically the work is done, particularly
for if we're focusing on an athlete. Um, typically it
means that, you know, the wellbeing has been focused on
looked after. The person feels very supported. And that means
that then when they go into those high performance environments,
(22:38):
high pressure moments, they don't have to worry about culture.
People behind them support anything like that. They can actually
just focus on performing in the moment. And that's the
ideal situation.
S2 (22:50):
Yes, because there are many contributors aren't there to to
mental health issues, whether it being anxiety from being away
from home travel, uh, other people in your team, um, expectations, injuries, uh, concussion.
So there are a lot of things you've got to
deal with as a sports person. And sometimes you just
want to focus on on performing well.
S5 (23:11):
Absolutely. And look, that's always the trick of being, um,
a high performing athlete at the top. Um, it's a
matter of being able to put all of the things
into place before that moment of performance and, um, and
then be able to just focus on what's, what's necessary,
you know, and that takes that takes practice, that takes, um,
organization that takes usually a bit of coaching from, um,
(23:35):
from a range of different people to be able to
have systems in place, to be able to perform at
your best.
S2 (23:40):
There are conflicting values to a certain degree, though, aren't there? Because, um,
on one hand, you've got the expectation that you have
and people around you, and there might be higher expectations
from others talking about gold medal tallies, etc.. So there are,
to a certain degree, conflicting mindsets when it comes to sport.
(24:02):
How do you manage something like that?
S5 (24:04):
Um, yeah, it's a really good point. And um, look,
I think something that we've been talking about a lot
in sport over probably the last 5 to 10 years
now is around the concept that high performance sport brings
with it a range of different experiences that are not
always pleasant, actually quite uncomfortable most of the time. And
(24:25):
when an athlete can get into a position where they
understand and acknowledge and accept that the environment is what
the environment is, then there's a greater chance they can
move through that and actually focus on performance. So it
really is about accepting that a high performance environment is
full of distractions and noise and pressures and all of
(24:47):
these things and these emotional and physiological reactions that we have.
And actually that's normal for high performance. And the sooner
athletes can move to a position where they accept that
that's normal and can stop trying to fight against all
of these distractions, but just let it be and still
focus on what they're there for the greater chance they
(25:08):
have success.
S2 (25:09):
Well, this current generation is dealing with far more distractions
than it used to be the case, because back in
the old days, you used to be worried about having
your parents tickets or the family pressure or, um, you know,
media expectations, supporters expectations. Now you're dealing with gamblers who
are betting on your sporting events. You've also got social
media pressures, amongst others. Um, so it's almost overwhelming at times.
(25:32):
I would imagine for a young person coming through at
an elite level playing sport.
S5 (25:37):
Yeah, look, for our younger people. It is it is
quite overwhelming. And, you know, we do often work with
them to, um, think through what are all of those
distractions and out of those distractions, what's in my control
because some of them are within our control and what's
well and truly outside my control. And, you know, those
athletes have focused their time and energy on the things
(25:58):
that are outside of their control, get completely distracted, and
often don't perform at their best. So the key is
to really be focused on what is. Within my control
and and stay focused on that and be able to
then execute under pressure.
S4 (26:13):
And build.
S2 (26:14):
Resilience too, because, um, athletes need to be bulletproof or
appear to be bulletproof anyway, in competition and really focused
and totally focused on on what they're doing, their mindset
has to be 100%. How do you build that resistance?
Do you do scenario testing with athletes at all?
S5 (26:33):
Yeah. Look across a range of sports. Um, we do do, uh,
like what we'd call what if scenarios. So, you know,
what if this happened or and we don't just talk
about it, but sometimes even on camps, we'll actually reenact
it or, you know, put it into play. The bus's
broken down. Where? 15 minute walk. Still to the Olympic village.
Your race starts in 35 minutes. What do you do? Um, so,
(26:57):
you know, we talk about a range of those things to,
to think through what's plan A, plan B and so
that it's actually familiar in case the situation happens. And,
you know, from my experience of being at an Olympics,
anything and everything can happen and does happen. And so
those athletes who are more resilient, who are able to
(27:18):
pivot or adapt or be flexible, often find that they
can move through and just accept that this is part
of an Olympic Games and then return their focus to
what they're here for.
S2 (27:30):
Yes, I remember watching sporting teams preparing for the Olympics
with loudspeakers at the side of their grounds, with um
opposition crowd support blaring in the speakers to try and
put the players off even though they're in the middle
of nowhere. Uh, yes. As a scenario.
S5 (27:48):
Yes. Yeah. Look. And lots of those scenarios have been
used over time. Absolutely. But you know as well, resilience
building doesn't start at the end. You know, at that
podium level, it really starts right back at the beginning.
It starts with parents. It starts with junior um and
development coaches just creating opportunities for kids to have to
(28:09):
build resilience. And, you know, some of those things are
about saying no or delayed gratification and all those little
things that incrementally build resilience over time and honestly have
a have a significant impact down the track.
S2 (28:24):
A lot of athletes do have an obsessive personality, so
they'll want to overtrain they'll want to possibly go that
one step. They believe their opposition isn't doing. Or how
do you manage something like that? Because that can lead,
I would imagine, to mental health issues when those expectations
aren't met.
S5 (28:42):
Yeah. Look it can be mental health and also physical health.
I know the physios nowadays are putting a lot of
focus on training load, like the physical training load and
trying to manage athletes expectations of what they can and
can't do. Um, I think what's come to the forefront
the last probably 5 or 6 years has been around
athlete recovery, and that recovery is actually having a more
(29:05):
significant impact on athletes ability to maintain or enhance strength, um,
and maintain or enhance skills. So there's a big focus
now on sleep and downtime and using that effectively to um, yeah,
to maximize recovery.
S2 (29:22):
Just to wrap it up, it sounds like the real
focus here is on the simple things. Uh, forget about
the complications. Just focus on on what you can control.
S5 (29:31):
That's absolutely right. And I think sometimes the simple things
are easier to focus on. We get them right. And
then those little one percenters add up over time. And
before you know it, you're at the 100%.
S2 (29:44):
Yes, we tend to overcomplicate things these days too. Georgia,
thanks very much for joining us on on site. It's
been great.
S5 (29:50):
You're welcome. Thanks for having me. See you.
S2 (29:55):
That was Georgia Riddler, Sport Integrity Australia's consulting mental health adviser.
Where the conversation goes will depend largely on what you say.
It's important to look after your mental health and wellbeing
and seek support if you need it. If this podcast
has triggered you in any way, or if you or
someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 000.
(30:16):
Visit your nearest hospital emergency or call a crisis helpline.
You can call lifeline on 131114 or beyondblue on one
302 4636. Well, thanks for joining onside. We'll have another
episode shortly.
S1 (30:36):
You've been listening to onside, the official podcast of Sport
Integrity Australia. Send in your podcast questions or suggestions to
media at Sport Integrity. Gov.au. For more information on Sport
Integrity Australia, please visit our website. Sport integrity gov.au or
(30:58):
check out our Clean Sport app.
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