Supporting Healthy Coping and Functioning Strategies - Anthony Tucker (Tuck) - Neurodivergent Mates

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to NeuroDivergent Mates.
Hello and welcome to anotherepisode of Neurodivergent Mates.
I'm your host, will Wheeler,and today I'm joined with my

(00:29):
special guest, anthony Tuck,who's going to be talking about
supporting healthy coping andfunctioning strategies.
Tuck, what's going on, myfriend?
Hello mate, how are you today?
Yeah, yeah, you know, can'tcomplain, it was actually
interesting.
Tuck and I were Tuck's fromAdelaide, or Radelaide, they
like to call it down there, am Iright, mate?

(00:50):
I forget you have to leave thatone alone.
Oh really, You've got to leavethat one alone.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Yeah, I think we've seen that one.
I think we're over that one.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Okay, because you know the funniest thing about it
when the only people who seemto call it radelaide are people
from adelaide themselves.
So, um, that was an interestingone when I heard that, but, um,
no, oh good, it was actuallyinteresting because before we
started the podcast, we'retalking about, uh, where tucks
from, and we'll talk a littlebit about the football as well.

(01:20):
So tucks are um, port adelaidesupporter and we're just talking
about a little bit about howmuch adelaide has changed.
So, for those of you who don'tknow, I used to have to do a
little bit of work down inadelaide and I spent a little
bit of time in port adelaidethere and just how much it's
growing.
And you know, um, yeah, it'sbeen quite interesting, but how

(01:41):
do you reckon the boys went thisyear?

Speaker 2 (01:43):
well, not too bad, mate, like it's been a
challenging year.
But how do you reckon the boyswent this year?
Well, not too bad, mate.
Look, it's been a challengingyear.
It was a really close season.
You followed a bit of AFL, soit was like one of those things
one week you cheer and the nextweek you're crying.
Port Adelaide are parochial.
So one week we love our team,the next week we sack the coach
and we've moved out.
Yeah, by the end of the seasonit was okay.

(02:04):
We finished third, I think.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Yeah you didn't do too bad.
Hopefully next year's the year,right?
It always seems like I'm sickof saying that Will, I'm so sick
.
Yeah, I reckon you would be.
I reckon you would be.
You know what.
You know what.
It's funny, right, becauseobviously, like I said before,
but obviously, like I saidbefore, I was brought up with

(02:26):
Geelong, my father's fromGeelong, so I was always like
you've got to be a Geelongsupporter, right.
But I obviously lived up inBrisbane, right, and you know,
obviously the Lions were quite agood team back in the day and
it was Port Adelaide who knockedthem off.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
In the end, it was you were, 2004, a very good year
.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
But then your other team in 2007 are the source of
much of my PTSD.
When you beat us in the grandfinal, by what was it?
100 and too many points in thegrand final.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But yeah, it's just one ofthose things, but I think it
just goes to prove how much,when your team does win the
grand final, to savour thatmemory so much you know, because
you don't know when you'regoing to get it again.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
Get it again, yeah.
But yeah, but you know whathappens, unless you're a Penrith
supporter, of course.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
When you're a Penrith supporter.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
It's every year, isn't it?
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (03:22):
Supporter.
Of course, when you're Penrithsupporter, it's every year,
isn't it?
Yeah, oh my God.
Oh my God, Do not get mestarted with Penrith.
I liked Penrith when theyweren't as good, but now it's
just like.

Speaker 2 (03:31):
The underdog thing.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Yeah, totally.
You just want to see someoneknock them off and it will
happen.
It always happens at some point.
It's just a matter of when.
But you know what, talkingabout all this heartache and
that with the football, I thinkit probably works well into
supporting healthy, coping andfunctioning strategies.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
What do you reckon, my friend?
This is where you have to learnit.
Through the fire is when you'relearning coping strategies.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Totally, mate, totally, totally.
But look, before we do getstarted, I'll do just a little
bit of housekeeping, if there'sanyone who hasn't listened to us
before.
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(04:22):
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You can check us out atneurodiversityacademycom.
Also, on today's program orshow, whatever you want to call

(04:44):
it.
I'll just do a little bit of adisclaimer, so warning some
discussions may be triggering.
If you need help, please reachout to a loved one or call
emergency services.
We are not doctors.
This is a space for sharingexperiences and strategies and
if you have any questions, youknow, feel free to put them in
the comments section of thesocial media pages you might be

(05:06):
watching the live version from.
So we're currently on the liveversion at the moment and, look,
I know there's a little bit ofa delay through the live version
, and all that for safetyreasons.
If we get it in time, we'll tryand answer those questions as
best as we can.
Tuck you ready to rock and roll, my friend.

(05:27):
Sure thing, you're born ready,mate, buzzer's ready.
Buzzer is ready.
All right, cool man, so easyquestion first.
Well, it might not be that easy, who knows.
But look, tell us a little bitabout yourself, mate.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
Yeah, well, I love talking about myself, not really
.
No, I'm.
Where do I start?
I grew up in a rural area ofSouth Australia, like just past
Adelaide Hills.
My family were generationalfarmers, so I grew up there and
you know I had a pretty goodlife out there on the farm, you

(06:02):
know.
But you know it had itschallenges also, like my dad, um
, you know he's he's a great guy, but he had his own challenges
around um alcohol misuse, whichwhich led to him and mum
divorcing when I was quite youngand with all the stuff that
that brings.
So so that was it there.
And because I was on a farm, Igot shipped off the back in the

(06:24):
day, I got shipped off theboarding school.
So you know that was anotherthing that you kind of learned.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
What type of farm was it out of?

Speaker 2 (06:31):
curiosity.
Oh, we had a bit of everything,you know we had cereal crops
and then also beef cattle andsheep as well.
Did you have to deal with muchdrought?
From what I remember, growingup, we lived right on the Finnis
River, which is, I think, frommemory carries the second
largest amount of water ofrivers in South Australia, right

(06:54):
next to the Murray.
So in wintertime sections ofour property were quite flooded.
But yeah, we did have to.
You know it's very seasonal,like if anything's going to
bring you drama in your life.
Be a farmer.
You know it's like you're inthe middle of the.
You know it's very seasonal,like if anything's going to
bring your drama to your life,be a farmer, you know it's like
yeah, it's like it's a hard road.

Speaker 1 (07:09):
Like I, I've watched some things about farmers and
like at the moment that thefarmers are doing quite well,
which is really good, you know.
But you know, for years thosepoor people have gone through
heartache just to do what theylove.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yeah, yeah, it's true , yeah, it's true, and we were
like we went back on the farm alittle bit like my brother and I
, like there was only the two ofus in our family.
But you know, we were the lastkind of generation of farmers.
You know, it all got sold.
It was just too difficult to do, you know.
So, yeah, from there, for me, Iwas.
You know, it all got sold, youknow it was just too difficult

(07:46):
to do, you know.
So, yeah, from there, for me, Iwas.
You know, I've done.
The only thing that I have moreof other than professions has
been hobbies in my life.
I've tried and done a bit ofeverything, but I've done
everything else.
I was a soldier, I was a farmer, I was a touring muso, I was,

(08:06):
like, owned a small business andknow, and then, uh, you know,
life led me, you know, put onefoot in the other, learn from
one thing and go on to the next,and that's where I ended up
where I am today.
I work for mission australiatoday and, um, I came in
starting work for mission um,what they call a community
rehabilitation support worker,which is, um, someone that does
case management, support forpeople that have got
psychosocial disabilities andbecause of my management and

(08:30):
business experience, you know,I've kind of moved on a little
bit from there and in amanagement role there I'm the
area manager, so I look afterall our AOD and mental health
programs for mission in AdelaideMetro and Southern SA, which is
really really cool.
I love it.

Speaker 1 (08:46):
No, that's cool.
That's cool, Just out ofcuriosity.
You were saying that you wentto boarding school.
Right yeah, how is boardingschool for yourself?
Was that a great experience, orwas that quite difficult, or
you know was there any struggles.
Yeah, that was a challenge forme, you know.

Speaker 2 (09:04):
Was there any struggles?
Yeah, that was a challenge forme.
You know, like I'd and as we'llget on to, like most of my life
, I didn't feel like I fitted ina lot of places.
You know, I was always going.
Why does it seem so much easierfor everyone else, you know?
And so boarding school wasn'tmuch different than that.
I got there and you know Iwanted to be accepted and

(09:27):
included and part of staff andyou know I had pretty good
friendships, but it just, youknow, I was always the outer of
the inner, you know, and so itwas a challenge.
You know, the boarding schoolscame with a fair level of
bullying and things as you go,especially as a young kid going
in.
I went straight out of primaryschool.
I was a 12 or 13 and moved away.

(09:48):
My parents had just divorced,my dad was remarrying and there
was so much kind of complexityaround it and you kind of felt
like it's another thing.
You know, it was a challengingtime, like it's one of those
things you look back on and gooh yeah, I have some good
memories from it, but there'salso some some stuff in there
you go.

Speaker 1 (10:07):
You know, crap, that was a bit hard yeah, totally so,
and you know, I think sometimes, as harsh as it sounds,
sometimes, that shapes us intothe person, people that we are
today you know, sometimes it'sthe challenging parts that and
and you know I'm assuming aswell probably with a lot of the
stuff that you're doing now, youknow some of that could have

(10:30):
been, could be trauma orwhatever that you've taken from
those days in boarding schooland you know your parents break
up all of that am I correct yeah, I think you I think you're
spot on, spot on Like I did lotsof different things with work
and with my personal life andjust always felt like there was

(10:54):
just something not quite right,like all those things and I'm
sure a lot of people that arelistening struggled with they're
feeling like you know thatnegative messaging you get from
a lot of stuff you know youdon't fit.

Speaker 2 (11:02):
Struggled with feeling like you know that
negative messaging you get froma lot of stuff you know you
don't fit.
And so, as almost a side note,I was down the street with my
other half the other day and webumped in a completely different
city, bumped into a primaryschool teacher I had, and I
recognised her.
I said, oh, and she recognisedme and she goes oh, anthony, and
we stopped and had a chat,introduced her to my other half

(11:25):
and talking about life and stuff, and she goes to.
She said, oh, he's such alovely young boy.
The only thing we could neverget him to concentrate is always
daydreaming, you know, and shewas in my first couple of grades
, you know.
So that's, you know, one ofthose things you go oh, the
signs were there, but it justwasn't picked up on.

Speaker 1 (11:46):
So that was your ADHD , is that correct?

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, yeah, and like this is only a new discovery for
me, like I went through lifeand I just kind of putting out
spot fires and different thingsyou know and trying to, and what
we're talking about today is abit of coping strategies and you
know, a lot of my life wastrying to put out the fires of
symptoms and you know, inunhealthy and end up in healthy.

(12:13):
I was always a heavy drinker,always wasn't great at
relationships or romanticrelationships and I just
couldn't get it to make work andthese were always like to cover
things up.
I didn't feel worthy andaccepted, so I looked for places
that I would feel worthy andaccepted.

Speaker 1 (12:31):
And what were they?
Out of curiosity, what were mystrategies?
Well, no, no, like you said,you would try and find places
that were oh yeah.
And you know, because I had,you know, big drinking problems
and it was like and you don'trealise it at the time, but like
those, you're trying to go toplaces where you're accepted and

(12:51):
it's like, okay, well, I'll goto a place where other people
are drinking and they'll acceptme because they'll be drinking
as well, or whatever that was,and it was actually very
unhealthy.

Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, I think you're exactly right, and the place is
sweet.
Like my dad, as I said, my dadwas a drinker, and so when him
and mum separated, when I was athis place, I grew up in the pub
, you know, and so what did Isee?
My model of what a bloke waslike and how he dealt with his

(13:26):
life was he was drinking and hewas womanizing and he was, you
know, all these kind of kind ofthings, and so they're the kind
of people that I was around andyou know, mum was doing her best
to kind of, you know, keep meon the right track.
Um, but, um, you know, wherewould you rather be as a
pre-teen, teenager, boy?
Would you rather be at home,sitting with your mum, or down

(13:46):
the pub with your dad, walkingthe streets and hanging out?
You know, and that was me, youknow, up to no good.
So, you know, that was kind ofwhat I got from that.
You know, at that age Dad was agood fella and had a lot of
friends, but he, you know, thatwas the kind of things that I

(14:06):
saw.

Speaker 1 (14:08):
But you know, I don't know if it's the same with you,
but at that time, you know, ifI think back to when I was
younger and you know, reallygetting introduced to a lot of
that stuff, you don't see it asa problem back in those days.
No, you know people whostruggle with that stuff.
Right, that's not you, that'sother people.

(14:29):
Do you know what I mean?
That's what you're thinking inyour head, you know.
And then you start to see thatyou know, especially like some
of the stuff that I had going on, it's like, oh, hang on, what
I'm dealing with with actually alot of other people aren't like
this you know what I?

(14:50):
mean they don't get blackoutdrunk every, every weekend and
all of that type of stuff.
And that's where you start togo oh my god, this is a problem
yeah, and I think I was.

Speaker 2 (15:01):
I was surrounding myself with people that were the
same.
You know you're looking forplaces of belonging and for me I
was a muso so I was playing allthe time and you know we'd be
touring.
So you'd pull into a town andplay one night and that might be
everyone you bump into.
That's their night of the weekpartying.
But then you're on to anotherplace the next night and that's
their one night of the week.

(15:22):
But every night of the week isyour night of the week with your
party and sometimes you'regetting paid in alcohol as well.

Speaker 1 (15:29):
Yeah, you know you're getting your ride, you're
getting all of that type ofstuff.
So you know it's like you can'tand almost as well right, like,
say, like a lot of these bigfamous rock stars we see that
you know, some of them intotheir 60s or whatever, are in
and out of rehab and all of thatstuff, because you just can't

(15:52):
escape that lifestyle.

Speaker 2 (15:56):
Yeah, yeah, for me, like I remember, I never thought
it was a problem.
You know what I mean.
In hindsight, I go, yeah, I wasjust wasting my time, and you
know the things that I wentthrough after that is that you
know the guilt and the shamethat comes with that after what
you see is a wasted life orwasted this, and it's just

(16:20):
really made me think.
It wasn't until much later thatI actually re-evaluated that
time, because it got worse.
Like anything, if you don'tdeal with it, you're just
throwing Band-Aids over the sameissues, not dealing with issues
.
Also, your relationshipproblems that come with it, your

(16:41):
inability to stay connected orto stay focused, all these kind
of things that play with it.
yeah, um, you know inability tostay connected or to stay
focused and all these kind ofthings that play into it, and
then eventually one thing or theother and then there was other
substances got involved and soyou know, I was, um, you know,
all this kind of led to a pointover from the time I started
using meth or other substancesthrough to the time I lost

(17:03):
everything was only about fouror five years you know like.
I went um.
I remember um one time we'dmoved to the port this stage
because I thought I've got toget away from my hometown to get
, to get better to get away, andwe moved to the port of all
places, and anyone that'sprobably thought where you move
to get, so yeah, for thosepeople who don't know, like port

(17:26):
adelaide, like it used to bequite a rough area.

Speaker 1 (17:30):
It's actually quite um up market.
Now I'm assuming I haven't beenthere for years, but, um, I'm
assuming someone who wants toprobably back when you move
there, who wanted to get clean,uh, probably not the best move.
Not the best move.

Speaker 2 (17:45):
And the problem is you know?
They always say you know youcan't run away from problems
because you're still there whenyou get there.
And you know I just met up withthe same crowd and, you know,
just continued on my merry wayand you know I'd and it's funny
how you attract them.

Speaker 1 (18:03):
Do you know you don't have a sign on your back going
hey look, I'm this and that.
Because I remember it was sortof a similar type of situation
for me when I moved to the UK.
I had broken up with along-term girlfriend.
I was like you know, and evenback when I was with her, there

(18:23):
was a lot of drinking drugs,whatever right, and I was like I
really want, and even back whenI was with her, there was a lot
of drinking drugs, whateverright, and I was like I really
want to get away from all ofthis stuff.
I remember getting over thereand then I remember like it was
probably, I know, six monthsinto me being over there I'm
like, oh my God, all I'm doingis attracting the same, exact
same people, just in a differentcountry, who I was trying to

(18:48):
get away from back in the day,right, same people with a
different accent.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, some of them wereAustralian, but yeah, some of
them were from other countriesand all of that and you know.
But the thing was, I did learna lot about myself.
I did go over there to try andrefine myself in that, but I

(19:10):
think that was one of the thingswhich was an eye-opener.
It was like, holy crap, man,you've moved all this way and
you've you've found the exactsame people that you're trying
to get away from.
Yeah, is that a problem?
You know so.
It's little things, people thatyou're trying to get away from.
Yeah, is that a problem?
You know?
So it was little things likethat.
You know well, you've neverreally had a career.
You really should build acareer, you know.

(19:32):
It was all of those types ofthings that I really learnt when
I was over there.
So there were some positives,but there was a lot of
negativity there as well.

Speaker 2 (19:41):
I think you still build skills and you still build
lived experience, whatever youdo.
You know, like I look at whereI'm at now and there's some
stuff that I picked up along theway in random kind of jobs,
random concentrations that Ifind myself relying on all the
time, or they're playing to theskills that that have me doing
what I'm doing now.
But it was like the catalyst tochange for me was around

(20:05):
exactly that.
I remember, you know, myrelationship at the time, which
is my ex, was on again, offagain.
It was just, you know, toxickind of situation.
We had one kid and I had astepson at the time and you know
, I just got up one morning Ilooked in the mirror and I was
like who the heck are you?

(20:26):
You know, like you had everyopportunity at your feet, you
had all the advantages thatyou'd want as a person.
How did you end up here?
You smoke and crack out of alight bulb, you know, and you've
lost everything you own.
You know it's like what theheck is going on, how, how does
someone that has everyopportunity still end up this
way, you know, and there's therewas a lot of just naturally bad

(20:48):
choices, but there was a a lotof messaging that I internalized
.
A lot of those poor copingstrategies, like a emotional
regulation was was notnon-existent, um unable to
maintain, um you know, normalcyor jobs.
You know, like I was, I waslucky.
I found patches through thattime where I was able to find

(21:11):
jobs that suited me.
You know they were differentevery day, or you know I was my
own boss, or you know thesethings that kind of supported
that but I didn't take advantageof it because I was like the
spare time I had I was offtouring and drinking and taking
drugs.
So, yeah, that was the catalystfor me.
I was just like you know, Idon't want to be this person

(21:31):
anymore, you know?
Yeah, and trying to work outwho you are without it is the
next biggest challenge.

Speaker 1 (21:37):
Yeah, I'm just trying to think what the turning like
for me.
Like, because I don't think.
Like say, for example, right,when people I don't know, let's
say, you see someone and you'relike, ah, well, society will see
a certain type of person, right, and they're like, ah, you've

(21:57):
got to get off this stuff,you're a loser or whatever,
right, not saying that you and Igo around doing that, but what
society would would probably bedoing right, and I don't think
people actually understand howdifficult it is to actually just
.
it's like giving up smokingright, not that I used to, not

(22:19):
that I smoke, but I'm imaginingthat well, I've had to give up
other stuff and that was thechallenging part.
You know, it's hard to see thatthe people you're around are
the ones that why you can't giveup, because what I would sort
of find was that I'd be tryingto give up on stuff and I'd be

(22:43):
feeling like crap and my matewould be like, look, come around
, mate.
And then you know, give me acone, or here, have a beer, you
know where.
What I needed was actually noneof that, you know, and you
can't see that and you think, oh, but these are good people, you
know, and they are good people.
I'm not saying that they're badpeople, but like they just

(23:09):
weren't good for me and thedirection I wanted to go into, I
think the biggest turning pointfor me was definitely getting
into business, because Iremember going to a talk and I
remember Mark Boris, the guy whowas on the Celebrity Apprentice
, right, he got up and talked,right he's like look, you know,
if you want to build a business,it's hard work.

(23:30):
If you want to go and party andtake drugs and all that, this
isn't for you.
You've got to be focused.
And I remember leaving thatjust feeling full of energy,
like wow, that was amazing.
I've really got to make somechanges.
Then I went back to my houseand we're having a party that
night and people are likesmoking crack and doing like, um

(23:55):
, you know, like the soda bowl,are they?
like the icing things, where youget high off those things and
people are doing all that crapand I'm just thinking I've just
come from something solife-changing to this.
And then the next week I movedout.
I was like nah, and that was myturning point there.
It sometimes just takessomething like that and did you

(24:20):
have your diagnosis at thisstage.

Speaker 2 (24:21):
Did you know about this?

Speaker 1 (24:22):
No, no, well, I knew I was dyslexic, but I only found
out I was ADHD like gee abouttwo years ago or something.

Speaker 2 (24:31):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (24:32):
So no, I had no idea and yeah, it made a hell of a
lot of sense, I think I'm justtrying to think like, because,
like I think the hardest thingfor me to kick was alcohol, or
you know, like I don't knowabout you, but all the other
drugs were heaps easy to get ridof, but the alcohol, that was

(24:53):
the hard part because, like Idon't know, it's everywhere and
you can just get it whenever youwant it's normalized, isn't it?

Speaker 2 (25:00):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's not like it's a problem,
you know, but it's normalized,isn't it?

Speaker 1 (25:03):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's not like it's a problem,
you know, but now I can actuallyhave a drink which I really
like.
I can have a drink and not, youknow, not be like bleh legless
I know when to stop.
You know I know when to stopand I love that.
Yeah, you know, I love that.

(25:23):
I'm able to control it.
It doesn't control me, if thatmakes sense.
But I've actually just hadsomeone message through from
Shane.
I can't pronounce.
I know Shane, shane's a legend.
Yeah, shane, finn, I wasthinking Flynn, but Finn, yeah,
I was reminded of the words ofmotivational speaker Jim Robin
just last week you are theaverage of the five people you

(25:47):
spend the most time with.
Yeah, there you go.
Thank you very much, shane, forsharing that it is true.

Speaker 2 (25:58):
Like I wonder, it almost works the other way too,
doesn't it?
Like we were saying before, Iwas almost looking for some,
like I was almost looking forpeople to justify my behaviour
or what was going on for me, youknow.
So I reckon the same story.
Like I always said, you know myyoung people, you know when you

(26:18):
go to your parents you say, ohcareful, you're looking after
them, you're worried about thekids they hang around with.
But sometimes it's more of asymptom than it is a cause too,
isn't it?
Totally, totally.
I agree that what he was sayingabout community or those people
you put around, like when I gotsober and clean, I went cold

(26:40):
turkey on everything smoking,drinking, meth, you know,
dropped a lot.
I had a couple of relapses.
You know pretty much from thego.
And I look back and I go well,what was different that time and
what was it?
And I now look back and I go.
The things that I had around meat the time addressed some of

(27:02):
those key areas around um andthis is for me, um around some
of those uh, negative messagingand the symptoms of my adhd or
the or the vulnerabilities ofADHD.
So it was treating, it wassupporting those things or
meeting those needs that Ididn't even know I had.
And it's not now, until post,understanding how I function and

(27:27):
my differences, I go.
Oh, that's why I thrived inthose situations and that's why
I'm most vulnerable in othersituations, like it was, like it
was a huge light bulb.

Speaker 1 (27:38):
It is.
It's actually it's true,because I remember when I got
diagnosed, I would be like I'dbe in the shops and I'm like, oh
, I'm so frustrated, so busy andI'm like, oh, now I know why I
feel like this, you know.
So maybe I shouldn't be goingto the shop at this time or, you
know, maybe you know I was ableto deal, cope with it a lot

(28:01):
better and it was sort of like,ah, now I know why I feel and
don't get me wrong, I still haveissues, but like I'm able to
handle them a lot better.
But in saying that, we mightjust move forward because, you
know, I want to know a littlebit about the work you're doing.
So you know, you've done allthat.
You had this very interestinglife.

(28:24):
You know from what we've spokenso far, you know how do you get
into what and, look, I think,from what you've described,
you'd be the perfect person forthis job.
But what is your job?
And you know what.
What do you do?

Speaker 2 (28:40):
um, so we look after.
So Mission Australia, um, most,I'm not sure some people may
know who we are or not, but, um,we're a non-for-profit
organization and we uh, you knowour mission is to end
homelessness and meet human need, and so everything we do is

(29:01):
around that.
In South Australia, where I'mfrom, like I said, I look after
AOD and mental health orco-existing illness programs.
So co-existing is like whenthere's two or more things going
on, and so we run programs thatare government funded so
they're free to access forpeople where they come in and
get support with what they need.

(29:21):
And you know, my role now is tolook after the contracts and
the program managers and lookfor opportunities for us to meet
, you know, look for gaps andneeds, such as the one we're in,
you know, for people in aneurodivergent, particularly
ADHD.
There's a lot of statisticsaround about how we are more

(29:46):
likely or more vulnerable tohaving a substance misuse
disorder.
I've got a couple of prettycool stats here that I wanted to
share, yeah, share them away,mate.
There's been a few studiesaround it.
One most recently was done inNew Zealand, so they're, you
know, pretty comparable.

Speaker 1 (30:03):
Yeah, yeah, no, totally.

Speaker 2 (30:05):
So what have we got here?
Substance use disorder.
So one in five individuals witha substance use disorder so
that's a diagnosed substance usedisorder have ADHD.
So that's one in five, which isastronomical.
That's pretty high, yeah, twiceas likely than those that are

(30:29):
neurotypical.
So 50% is more likely, twice aslikely, 200% more likely.
45% of illicitant users haveadhd um, but only a fraction of
them are formally diagnosed,which I thought was another
number that was what was thatagain?
Sorry, what was the 45% ofillicit stimulant users.

Speaker 1 (30:51):
So um stimulants wow, that is quite high.

Speaker 2 (30:56):
Yeah, have ADHD, but only a fraction are diagnosed,
so that could be higher.
Yeah, it could be.
People with ASD are less likelyto use substances, but if they
do, they face higher risks, sothere's more detrimental effects
to people with autism or ASD.

Speaker 1 (31:14):
Yeah, that's interesting yeah.

Speaker 2 (31:18):
And then there's some other stuff around.

Speaker 1 (31:19):
Where did you get these stats from?

Speaker 2 (31:21):
out of curiosity, Like things come across my desk
all the time because I'minvolved in this, is part of my
work, you know.

Speaker 1 (31:27):
Yeah, yeah, and especially now.

Speaker 2 (31:29):
You know, like I'm a bit of a rag, a bull with a.
What is it?
Bull to a red rag, whatever itis.
So when it's something likethat man.

Speaker 1 (31:39):
yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mixed metaphors I'm the mixedmetaphors.

Speaker 2 (31:43):
So, yeah, so like lived experience, like one of my
other roles is I'm on the boardfor LELAN, which is a lived
experience leadership andadvocacy network, so that's the
peak body in South Australia forpeer work and lived experience.
So I'm involved in a lot ofconversations like this and you
know, at my level as an areamanager, I get invited to a lot
of these things and a lot ofthese papers come across my desk

(32:05):
and so we're, you know, withthe Mental Health Coalition in
South Australia and all theseother things.
So these things come acrossquite often, and there was also
another one that talked aboutpeople with ADHD.
Just around general mentalhealth and suicidal ideation and
suicidal behaviour are fivetimes more likely, which is just

(32:26):
astronomical, and so I thinkthis is just a huge unmet need
that needs to be addressed.
The other thing that's alsointeresting was that came out of
the New Zealand study that 44%of adults with ADHD, with a
substance use disorder, afterdiagnosis and treatment of their

(32:49):
ADHD, had improvements in theirAOD use.
So without even addressingtheir Aod use, just addressing
the adhd or theirneurodivergence 44 showed an
improvement, which I think yeah,that is interesting.

Speaker 1 (33:04):
That is interesting because I do believe that like I
still struggle with depressionand anxiety, but, like now that
I'm aware of a lot of thetriggers, you could probably say
, yeah, I'm seeing animprovement.
Like I said, I still strugglewith a lot of things, but I am a

(33:28):
little bit better just becauseI'm able to deal with that.
But you know what?
It's something interesting,especially what you were talking
about there, right?
Yeah, you know, unfortunatelyI've lost a fair few friends to
like suicide and stuff like that.
And when you're in, you knowfrom what I've found, especially
when you're in the scenes thatwe've been in, it is quite

(33:51):
common and I often think about alot of my friends who have, you
know, left us, um, I wonder ifthey were undiagnosed something.
Yeah, you know, just when Ilook back at it now and I see a
lot of um this, maybe thesymptoms were there, but we just

(34:13):
had no idea, you know I did notrealize.

Speaker 2 (34:17):
Um, it wasn't.
Adults weren't being diagnosedwith adhd until the early 2000s
in in australia, so it wasn't athing that they thought was
present or they were.
They were looking to assess.
And in england, in the uk, andit wasn't until 2008 that they
started assessing for adults forADHD, which is generations of

(34:38):
people that have goneunsupported.
Um, yeah, and who knows?
Who knows what the effects are?
Look, I'm not.
I can't look at my life andblame everything on my on an
undiagnosed, unsupportedneurodivergence.
I know that would be ridiculousand you know it would be me
trying to, but I look at some ofthe things that affected me so

(34:59):
deeply and the things I've triedto cover up.
You know, maybe, who knows,maybe if I was supported earlier
, there might have been a betterchance that I wouldn't have
made those same decisions, youknow.

Speaker 1 (35:10):
Yeah, but I think it's like, I think it's almost
like we always look at.
Everyone probably looks atgoing oh man, I would have done
so many things differently.
But, yeah, and that's the thing, Like I often think to myself,
like back when I was, like inschool, and that I'm like
imagine if I had like a mentoror something like that.

(35:31):
I just don't know if, like I,would have gravitated to it.

Speaker 2 (35:37):
Yeah, I think I might have been like no, I don't need
this crap.

Speaker 1 (35:41):
You know, I don't know, you know, I just don't
know and like it's.
I think, when I look at kidsthese days, if I was to go, okay
, go and do a talk to a schoolor whatever and go, you need to
get a mentor and stuff like that.
Kids are kids and they're goingto do whatever they want.

Speaker 2 (35:59):
Who's this old guy?
Why is he telling me he doesn'tknow?

Speaker 1 (36:01):
Totally, totally, totally, totally.
And that's where it's sort oflike it's so hard to be able to
see it through a young person'slens, because yeah, I was that,
but I'm sure there was probablypeople when I was that age
saying the exact same thing andI was probably going ah, piss

(36:23):
off.

Speaker 2 (36:26):
So yeah, I think part of what you're saying there is
the neurodifferences or thedifferences people have.
So we don't know what the youknow.
The only way we can know aboutwhat's going on for young
persons is having them tell us.
So we can't like that's.
I think the important of livedexperience, the important of
client voice in shaping theservices that we have and you

(36:49):
know we have services I lookafter services that are
supporting people and theirfamilies from 10 up.
So you know you've got10-year-olds coming into your
service with their families.
We have, you know, familyworkers.
We have psychotherapists, aodworkers, peer workers, all these

(37:09):
things to build around them,because they're things that
we've heard help and they'rewhat are being fed back by the
people that are accessing theprogram.
We have quite a large clientadvisory group.
You know, not just us but inevery state, and currently
Mission is setting up a nationaladvisory group.

(37:30):
So I think what you're saying isjust right.
It's that whole kind of forwant of a better term
decolonising of waywardy servicedelivery for people Like you
can't just go to people and saythis is what the professionals
say and this is what you need,because no one like everyone's
different and everyone hasdifferent requirements.

(37:51):
What they need is a place.
You know we run one-on-onesupports and group supports
because people need that kind ofcommunity to normalise what's
going on for them.
Leland runs a series of groupscalled Alt2Sue Alternatives to

(38:14):
Suicide, for People at ItsResume of Distress and it's a
totally peer-led group thatpeople access anonymously,
without you know worry thatthey're going to have you know,
emergency services called, butyou know, and their whole thing
is about the VCVC model, whichis like validation, curiosity,
vulnerability and community, youknow, and so they open up

(38:38):
spaces where they can hear frompeople, they can be validated
for what they're feeling.
They're not made to feel thatthere's something, you know,
that there's something wrongwith their identity because
they're going.
Actually, I feel like this ismy only solution at the moment,
you know.

Speaker 1 (38:55):
Yeah, because they're going.
Actually, I feel like this ismy only solution at the moment.
Yeah, and I will say like forme, getting to that point of
being able to talk about stuffwas incredibly difficult.
I don't know why, but it wassort of I don't know if it was
like a pride thing or whatever.
But once you know, I'm veryopen about it.

(39:16):
Now I'm very open about a lotof other things, but it did take
me a while to get there.
You know, as a teenager Iprobably would never have spoken
about that stuff because, like,I don't know I just wasn't
around the right people.
If I had opened up about certainstuff to certain people back
when I was younger, it couldhave been more like I think I

(39:40):
did.
But people would go look, I'llmake you feel better here.
Have a bong or you know, takethis or have a beer you know,
and you're thinking at the timeyeah, this is great, but you
don't realise that that's theproblem.

Speaker 2 (39:54):
Yeah, and that just you know.
In my case, those solutionswere just causing more problems
in the end, you know.

Speaker 1 (39:59):
Totally, totally.
But you know what?
Moving on from that, whatchallenges did you face in
discovering healthy copingstrategies?
I think that flows well intowhat we're sort of talking about
.

Speaker 2 (40:12):
Yeah, my challenges, sort of talking about yeah, um,
my challenge.
So I think what we spoke aboutwas was a lot.
What we're saying, like I did,it was never modeled for me, you
know.
So, um, it was about it.
Um, yeah, it was never modeledfor me.
So it's stuff you had to workout yourself, and people don't
get to our age with these thingsby accident.

(40:32):
So you learn, you know what is.
It need breeds creativity.
You know you create these kindof coping strategies to get you
through, and some are healthyand some aren't.
So there's a bit of trial anderror there.
But for some of us the lure orthe quick fix of an unhealthy

(40:55):
coping strategy is too hard toavoid.
You know, that's what I'd sayfor me.
And then it's the embarrassmentand the shame that comes with
it.
You know would just keep doingthat.
And now I'm sober you know I'mnot.
These things are still therethat I need to work through,

(41:19):
like my coping strategies thatkeep me healthy when I was a
frontline worker and workingwith people that you know you're
exposed to vicarious trauma andall these kind of things that
are happening all the time.
I know, when I'm not doing well, you know, for me.
I'll just take on more and morestuff.
You know I'm a huge peoplepleaser.
I have you know RSD is like wasit sensory dysphoria?

(41:45):
Yeah, yeah, that's it.
It's driven most of my life,you know.
So it was.
I need to be careful of thosethings and I think the last few
years, even before understandingmy ADHD, I was better aware of
them and I'd naturally learnt.
You know, like I said, you getto this age not by accident, so,

(42:07):
and I've become successful inmy position because I'd already
established these things.

Speaker 1 (42:15):
So now, with my understanding of my divergence,
it's like, oh, that's why that'shelpful, you know, which might
have been a few shortcuts before, but at least I know the
strategies that I've got inplace work for me, you know, and
so and can you actually see,you know, like you know, and so,

(42:36):
and can you actually see, youknow, like you know, you were
talking about how relationshipswere, um, a bit of an issue for
you back in the day and all ofthat and and look, I, you know,
I was the same.
And I look at some of the peopleI was in relationships with and
like we were just fueling thatfire.
Like there'd be times where I'mjust trying to, let's say, like

(43:01):
sometimes with my adhd, I justneed to chill and you know, I
just can't be forced to, youknow, and then someone would be
like, no, we've got to do thisnow.
And you know, just trying to,having to work against that was
the problem within itself.
And I look back at it now andI'm like, yes, I, that was the

(43:24):
issue right there.
Like do you look at that likeback in your past, especially
relationships and all that, andyou're like, oh my god, I can
see how we really didn't workwell together.
Or you may even go.
I think that person might havebeen ADHD themselves.

Speaker 2 (43:40):
My partner says I was diagnosing other people, her
included, which he's not superhappy about.

Speaker 1 (43:48):
Well, it's funny you say that because, like I don't
know, there's been a lot of timefor myself, especially working
in this space.
I'm able to go I'm pretty surethat person's this, I'm pretty
sure that person's that, andbefore you know it, they've
gotten the diagnosis and theyare, and I'm like told you, it's
like we've got a radar.

Speaker 2 (44:11):
You know, um, yeah, I was gonna say um, one of the
things that a couple of thingsthat really kind of were
eye-opens for me in relationship, like there was one and this
happened more than onerelationship like when I was, um
, I get that you go out andyou're so supportive and you've

(44:32):
got so much grace and so caringfor other people.
You get home and you've gotnothing left for me.
You know, and I'm like, and Ilike I railed against that all
the time when it comes up, thatmany times you've got to go.
Maybe there's some truth tothat.
And now I know that it'sbecause I spent my time masking
and you know it's hard work toengage with people.

(44:55):
I'm a people person, but it'sstill hard work.
I get home after work.

Speaker 1 (44:59):
We're staffed.

Speaker 2 (45:01):
And so then, to be a parent, a husband or a partner
or you know, sometimes you knowI really need now, I'm aware of
it, I go, okay, I can feel thatand I can be aware of it.
And the kids too, like myoldest, you know, the only way I
found it, only way I pursuedthis was and I know from

(45:22):
listening now that was otherpeople's story too was my oldest
is both gender and neurodiverse, and so it was through getting
attending support with them thatI actually went, oh, hold on.
And it was pointed to me.
He said have you everconsidered that this might be?
Oh, okay, and so that journeywith them, and now with my

(45:46):
second youngest, is alsopursuing some sort of assessment
.
So it's like, oh, okay, I'mreally, really aware of that.
Uh, that it's that, that's um,that's what it is, you know.
And my oldest was going evenlike a partner with a

(46:06):
relationship, like my kids aregoing hey, dad, we come in after
you come home from work and Iwant to tell you something I'm
really excited about, and it'slike you don't care, it's like
you're not interested or youzone out, or I'll be halfway
through a conversation and I'llstart thinking about something
else.
And you know a work thing, oryou?
Know, Maintaining conversationis one of my biggest challenges.

Speaker 1 (46:29):
It's so funny.
Well, it's so funny, like mywife will say to me sometimes
she'll be like, well, I'll, I'll, you'll be sitting there, but
you're, you're, it's like you'reoff in another planet and it's
like but for me it's, and likeprobably to her is probably
thinking I'm, she's probablythinking I don't care, or

(46:52):
whatever.
Yeah, but the thing is I docare.
It's just I'm focusing onsomething else right at that
point of time and I'm like totell you the truth, it's not
that I'm ignoring.
It's like my brain is going amillion miles an hour about
something.
It could be business, it couldbe something that I'm working on

(47:14):
and that's consuming my mind atthat point of time.
that it's so hard to almostbreak away from that and then be
like, okay, you've got myattention, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (47:29):
I've got that and also like for part of it,
sometimes my brain will go.
she'll go honey, or talk orsomeone will call dad and I'll
go yeah, and for my brain itgoes okay, you've done that task
now and it'll switch over tosomething else.
I said yes, but I didn't listento anything else they said.
And then you know, like I saidto you, both of them, both those

(47:55):
incidents, was it's like youdon't care, or it's like you're
not interested, or you don'tvalue us.
It's like when you.
That couldn't be further fromthe truth.
Like the people I love so deeply, and so when they say that,
then the RSD kicks in and I justfeel like horrible and terrible
and it's almost like you think,but it's not that at all Like

(48:17):
it's hard to explain, almostit's like, but I really do care,
and sometimes that's reallyhard to sort of explain within
itself, if that makes sense.
Yeah, it is true, and I thinkthe benefit of God, or the
upside of God, is the kids havetheir own kind of diversities

(48:40):
going on as well, and my partnerworks in mental health as well,
so there's understanding there,but it still doesn't mean it's
not hard for them.
The people you live with andthe love you to go, because they
just want.
They've got their own needs andthey want something from you,
and it's you know yeah, yeah,totally.

Speaker 1 (48:58):
But how do you reckon so?
How does neurodivergence affectdeveloping coping mechanisms?
Do you reckon so?
You know, do I don't know?
What are your thoughts?
So as in when you're Well thething is the way and I'll word

(49:22):
it a little bit differently.
So you know, maybe it could belike because, where we get so
sidetracked with things, andactually I'll give you an
example.
So I remember when I first gotinto business, right, I was like
, man, I want to make it big.
You know, I've got to make thishappen, right.

(49:43):
And I was like, yeah, my ADHD,mind, I'm going to be brilliant,
hyper-focused, hyper-focused tothe max, right, yeah, and I was
that hyper-focused that I wasworking from like 7 o'clock in
the morning to like 3 o'clock inthe morning the next morning
having a short sleep, havingstopped to eat, had to go to the

(50:06):
24-hour shop down the road toget something to eat.
Come home, have a bit of sleep,get up, do that.
For even on the weekend I waslike, yep, I've got this, I'm a
machine, you know.
And then boom, I just I broke,I had a breakdown, and you know
I've had that happen twice nowfor similar types of things, and

(50:27):
it's like holy crap, you know II can now see that, but it took
that to happen for me to go.
Oh my god, now I know you knowwhat I'm going to.
Uh, sit on the couch and watchepisode after episode of
whatever show I'm watching, andthat's good, you know where,

(50:51):
back in the day I would havebeen like man, I'm a lazy slob,
I should be working on mybusiness, but I'm here watching
TV.
But for me that's great, yeah.

Speaker 2 (51:04):
I think that's exactly right and that's my
experience too.
I'll sit here in the office andI'll just work until you know.
I'll sit, um, I'll sit here andand or in the office and I'll
just work until you know.
I have to set myself reminderson the phone eat, drink, you
know.

Speaker 1 (51:17):
Drink some water you know, actually that reminds me
I'd have some water.

Speaker 2 (51:22):
Thanks for the reminder, mate um, yeah, I, I
think, um, yeah, I think allthose kind of things that, yeah,
that happen to you.
That hyperfocus is a big onefor me too, like I just get
stuck in the zone and I'll takeon.
For me it was multiple times inmy life I've been verging on

(51:45):
burnout because I feel, like Isaid before, I just take more
and more things on because Ijust like I feel like I need to
prove myself.
I feel like I need to be valued.
You know, avoid the rejection,be accepted, fear, you know,
even in workplace, like, am Idoing enough, am I?

(52:07):
You know?
You get a bit of impostersyndrome thrown in on top.
You go crap.
Why have they given me the keysto this place?
Why, you know.

Speaker 1 (52:15):
Why do I deserve this yeah?

Speaker 2 (52:18):
Or you feel really responsible, like, for you know
dozens of employees that areresponsible, like if this
contract falls over, you knowtheir livelihood's at stake, you
know.
So you have all this, so you go, man, I've got a zone in here
and you know I can.
It doesn't take me too much.

(52:40):
I can procrastinate a littlebit normally on things other
than work, and they'll be thethings that I normally enjoy
that fill my cup, you know, likeplaying guitar.
Or you know work like, andthey're the and they'll be the
things that I normally enjoy,that film a cup, you know, like,
um, playing guitar, or you knowother things that I enjoy doing
.
They're the things I'llprocrastinate because I've just
burnt myself out in trying totrying to meet all the needs.

(53:02):
So I think, uh, trying to meetother people's needs and take
other things.
I think that's what affects my,or did affect my, coping
mechanisms.

Speaker 1 (53:09):
Yeah, that's interesting.

Speaker 2 (53:11):
And I don't think I'm not 100% on top of it, but I'm
better than I was and I engagein you know.
I told you before I had an EAPappointment today because I just
need to check in, have someonecheck in on me every now and
again and just say you know, howare you going, what are you
doing and those things are you?
It's helpful.
Eh yeah, I'm like my workplace.
I'm very thankful for theyvalue lived experience, they

(53:34):
value their workers and so thesethings are available to us all
the time.
So it's very grateful for it.
So I use it, you know.

Speaker 1 (53:44):
Yeah, yeah, I tell all my staff use it.
Yeah, yeah, totally.
And you know I've had to usethem in the past and even like
caught, like certain, especiallythrough the pandemic and stuff
like that, you know just beingable because, like my wife, she
wasn't at home the whole timebecause she was busy, like on

(54:05):
the front line pretty much doingall the COVID testing.
So she was never home, but I washome on my own the whole time,
in my head, you know.
So, being able to just speak topeople who I didn't even know,
it does help, you know.
So I'm definitely really mindfulof like that type of stuff.

(54:28):
But, you know, moving on and Iam mindful of the time and
awesome podcast, by the way,thank you so much for coming on
and talking about this because II think it's so relevant, you
know, but what tips do you havefor building functional routines
to support mental health, and Ithink what we just spoke about
in regards to speaking to peopleis one of them.

(54:48):
You know, what else would yourecommend?

Speaker 2 (54:53):
I think community is a big one.
I think you've got to have aspace.
You know, like we're herehaving a chat for a purpose for
your podcast, but look, I'mgoing to leave this and go away
with.
You know, having to talk thisthrough again with someone,
having hearing your experiences,and I find that really helpful.
It might not be everyone's cupof tea, but it's like it's, and

(55:16):
I guess that's the next point islike find out what is important
to you.
Find out I have to live my wholelife, defined by other things,
whether it's trying to pleaseother people, trying to fit in.
Defined by other things, whetherit's trying to please other
people trying to fit in, tryingto be loved, accepted, being
affected by drugs and alcohol,all these kind of other things

(55:37):
that have gone on.
At one stage I was getting somehelp and the person said so
what do you want?
Like you've sat here for thelast hour and I've heard about
your family, I've heard aboutyour partners, I've heard about
this.
But what's important to you andI'm like I couldn't do it, like
it led to some huge the abilityto self-reflect is way

(56:00):
underrated.
I reckon Like it's something Itry and do with our staff is
like encourage people toself-reflect and take
self-responsibility, and that'swhy another thing I think groups
are really helpful for, becausepeople can share that kind of
kind of stuff but being able todefine what your best life looks

(56:22):
like and, I think,understanding that your life is
not a there's no end goal, thateverything's a process.

Speaker 1 (56:39):
It's like it's a work in progress type of thing?
Yeah, it's true, it's alwayschanging.
It never goes the way you sortof plan.
You know what's a plan.

Speaker 2 (56:50):
Yeah, yeah, what's a plan.
Yeah, yeah, it's a plan.
And I heard someone the otherday say something and I went I
really like that.
And it says the whole recovery,the whole journey in life is.
And she said, fall in love withthe process of being the best
version of yourself.
And I thought, you know thatmight be hoopla to anyone else,

(57:12):
but for me it kind of jumped inbecause I'm very goal-orientated
most of the time and so beingpresent, being able to sit with
the now and the process of, youknow, even going like exercise,
oh, I can't wait till I've beenable to swim extra laps or can't
wait till I've lost 10 kilos,but it's being able to go.
Actually it's that's soimportant.

(57:32):
What's important is I turned uptoday and I'm doing the best I
can today and I think that canflow through to your work, your
relationships, anything justlike okay, it's a process, like
I don't have to be anythingother than what I am today.

Speaker 1 (57:47):
So interesting.
So do you work from home?
A?

Speaker 2 (57:49):
lot.
Yeah, bits and pieces, like I'mhere, they're everywhere.

Speaker 1 (57:54):
Yeah, so I work from home.
Like I now work from home morethan I've ever worked from home
ever.
And for me, I'm a people person, so I really enjoyed being in
the office and talking to peopleor whatever, like that I'd get
more done at home than what Iwould at the office because I

(58:16):
was probably talking.
But you know, I've noticed howimpactful working at home has
been, um, on my mental healthand maybe in a negative way, um,
because, like I don't havethose people that I can talk to.
So, for example, when you and Ihad a chat the other day, that

(58:37):
was great because it sort of waslike, okay, I've got to talk
with Tuck.
You know, and you know I'm sortof finding other coping
strategies to sort of deal withthat now.
Coping strategies to sort ofdeal with that now, um, but, um,

(58:57):
it's, it's definitely been ahard road, but you know, I think
this is another thing too.
This is the way of work thesedays.
A lot of people are workingfrom home.
So you know you're talkingabout routine and you know, just
fronting up to the pool to gofor a swim, you know, for me it
might be making sure I do have ashower before, like I could sit
in my pyjamas all day if Ireally wanted to, but still

(59:17):
staying in that routine ofgetting up, having the shower
you know having breakfast, yep,sitting down, having a break,
you know your lunch because it'sso easy to just get stuck here.

Speaker 2 (59:28):
Yeah, my partner's like super organized, so she's,
you know she's the other end ofthe spectrum, so she keeps me at
not the spectrum, so to speakyeah, yeah, yeah yeah, the other
end, she, uh, she's vigilantand stuff, so the bed has to be
made all the time.
So, like like when we first gottogether, it's like man, this

(59:49):
is a bit of a drag you know, butnow it's like oh, you know, I
don't.
I feel like getting up andmaking the bed is something I do
every day, because it's kind oflike um, it's like okay, now
it's moving on to the next stage.
You know, it's like and I thinkall those kind of little things
help with that yeah, yeah, yeahit is.

Speaker 1 (01:00:09):
And you know, for me it's like even doing the
shopping on friday um, you know,picking up the groceries, you
know getting all that stuff, um,you know paying all the bills,
like in regards I don't meanlike I pay all the bills, but
like actually paying them, notgoing.

(01:00:30):
You know, those are littlechores for me, type of thing,
and I think that's what keeps meon track.
It's sort of funny, like I'mvery good with organising and
all that.
Like, for example, our wedding.
I organised everything andeveryone's like what.
So your wife did nothing?
I'm like she really isn't goodwith that.

(01:00:52):
I was the one who organized itall um and it's just interesting
how it works, but uh, hey tuck,we're actually towards the end
of the end of the podcast here.
Man, awesome chat, that wentreally fast.
But you know, if people want toconnect with you and find out a
little bit more of your work,where can they go to check you

(01:01:12):
out, mate?

Speaker 2 (01:01:16):
So if you're interested in Mission Australia
and the programs we do, you cango to the Mission Australia
website, which ismissionaustraliaorgau, so on
there you'll find my service andyou can look at your state and
see what's available for youthere.
And then for LELN, which is theLived Experience Leadership and
Advocacy Network, that'sLELNorg what was it au LELNorgau

(01:01:40):
?
And then also, I don't have, Itry to stay off socials because
otherwise I'll doomsday scroll,so I'm not on socials a lot.
But my email that I've got thatanyone's happy to email, is
tuck T-U-C-K 5015 at gmailcom.

Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
So happy to have a chat with you.
Hopefully you don't get a wholebunch of spam emails now if you
put that out to our community.
But all good mate hey um, thankyou thank you.
So, yeah, be quiet please.
Um, you know he's trying to dogood stuff here.
Um, hey, tuck, thank you somuch for giving us the time to

(01:02:20):
chat with me today.
I really appreciate it it's.
It's so good to just sit downwith someone who you know has
lived a similar experience tomyself.
So, look, thank you so much forsharing that and, yes, please,
anyone.
If you want to connect withTuck, please feel free to email
him.
All of that.
We really appreciate your time,mate.

Speaker 2 (01:02:43):
No worries, it's been really good and thanks to the
podcast you know that's how weconnected was?
I stumbled across your podcastand I found some of the other
interviews really, reallyhelpful, just about community.

Speaker 1 (01:02:52):
Right?
Yeah, it is, Sure is my friend.
It is Awesome.
So those of you who haven'talready done so, please
subscribe, like and follow toall of our social media
platforms.
My name's Will and this isNeuroDivergent Mates.
Till next time, you.

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Supporting Healthy Coping and Functioning Strategies - Anthony Tucker (Tuck)

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Supporting Healthy Coping and Functioning Strategies - Anthony Tucker (Tuck)