Tertiary Catalogue

Emma was adopted at six weeks old and always knew she was adopted. When Emma was three, her family adopted another baby girl. As kids they were inseparable but as they grew older they started to see the world differently. Emma lacked a sense of self and developed disordered eating as a way of coping with that and the world around her. Emma shares how she navigated the emptiness she felt, her depression, abusive relationships and trauma around an attachment disorder. Emma is now a Peer Worker, Peer supervisor and Trainer in mental health. Emma explains how seeing her life through the lens of trauma changed life completely. Show Less

Hannah is young woman full of life, enthusiasm and a smile that is infectious. If you met her on the street you would never guess the challenges she has faced in her young life. During this episode, Hannah shares some of her journey with us: the frightening realisation that she had an eating disorder, the courage with which she immediately faced it and the years that followed until she hit rock bottom. ​ After moving in with her dad when home with her mum became unsafe, Hannah developed multiple eating disorders all while training and completing the Kokoda Trail as a teenager, completing high school and fashion college. Surrounded by supportive friends and her father, Hannah still struggled and eventually left home. With financial help from her mum, Hannah found a retreat which was the beginning of her recovery. ​ Hannah shares her story with courage and honesty. She works for an organisation called endED, which helps people living with eating disorders. Show Less

Nineteen year-old Jett shares his story of suffering from bullying in school and in his dance career, which led to severe anxiety, depression and resulted in anorexia nervosa. When Jett was in primary school, the bullying started because of his mostly female friends and his interest in performance and dance. The bullying continued as he moved onto high school. When he was 13 something felt wrong to Jett about the bullying. He realised he was gay and he was being bullied for who he was. After an unhealthy environment in his dancing career led him to develop anorexia nervosa and severe depression, he found support with family, therapy and a healthy eating plan. Jett shares his journey and the lessons he's learnt as he works toward his goals for the future. Show Less

After losing his parents at a young age and being separated from his brothers, Keenan was moved from his home in Redfern to the suburbs of southern Sydney. At the age of 13 and against the wishes of his carers, he went to find his brother who had returned to Redfern. Unfortunately, his brother was already addicted to drugs. From then on Keenan lived on the streets learning how to survive from his cousins, trying desperately to find a sense of belonging. Keenan started committing crimes, became addicted to drugs and eventually went into juvenile detention followed by jail at the age of 18 due to a lack of community support and understanding of his cultural background and needs. Meeting Carly, his now-wife and completing an intense therapeutic programme, made all the difference. Keenan shares his story with such generosity and uses his experiences to help others. Keenan and his wife Carly are co-founders of Deadly Connections, an organisation helping indigenous and non-indigenous people struggling to overcome the challenges of their lives. Indigenous viewers are advised that this programme contains voices and images of people who have died. Show Less

Olive is sixteen and lives with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), anxiety and depression. At the age of nine, Olive began to have negative thoughts but she managed to hide them from everyone until the first year of high school. After experiencing several crises Olive had to be admitted to a youth mental health unit for six weeks. Listen as she tells her story about her challenges and how she has grown from her experiences, not always smoothly but always forwards. Since making this film, Olive has had several difficult periods but she is still growing in her self-knowledge and learning new techniques for coping with her extremely challenging life. Show Less

Pete grew up on a farm in New South Wales, Australia. His father was a farmer and all he ever wanted to do was follow his dad around and be a farmer too. After school, Pete went to another farm and learnt about sheep farming, eventually bringing this knowledge back to his dad. As a result, they started to raise sheep as well. Pete’s dad got sick while he was still young, and this bought him home to the family farm sooner than expected. He had learnt a lot about managing the property from his dad and other farmers, but he couldn't have learnt about the stress that comes with experiencing a prolonged drought. Pete struggled to sleep, he was irritated with his wife and couldn’t make decisions. The stress started to get too high and he didn’t know if he would ever get over it. Pete realised that there was help and support available and visited his doctor. He also learnt how challenges can lead to creative solutions. Show Less