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Unstable Australia Changing the conversation around mental health. Conversation Before Crisis. Embrace the Chaos šŸ’™
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Today I had the privilege to sit down with Aaron to record an episode for his podcast. Our paths had crossed previously ...
14/10/2026

Today I had the privilege to sit down with Aaron to record an episode for his podcast. Our paths had crossed previously briefly in a work capacity several times and we had spoken here and there in the last 12 months but to actually sit, chat and go through not only my story but his, was amazing. Jump over and give his page a follow and listen to some of the other guests he’s had. My episode should be out tomorrow - I talked for 2.5 hours and the file download has taken longer than expected šŸ˜‚ thanks again for inviting me to be part of this, can’t wait to return the favour!

13/10/2026

I wish I could say this hadn’t happened to me but sadly it has on multiple occasions

11/10/2026

Embrace the Chaos šŸ’™

08/10/2026

One of the biggest symptoms I’ve experienced with my PTSD has been concentration levels. As a police officer I spent literal hours each shift driving around, whether patrolling or responding at speed to jobs, and I enjoyed it. When I first went off work I found I couldn’t drive more than 20 minutes at a time without completely disassociating, to the point it wasn’t safe. Even sitting in the passenger seat and trying to concentrate on the traffic and roads was exhausting, finding myself falling asleep on longer trips. As someone who had always enjoyed going for drives I found it so frustrating! Lately though I’ve been able to go for longer drives and found I’m handling them much better, and if I’m honest driving my dream car has certainly encouraged me to get out and about! Whilst it still takes its toll slightly, I’ve rediscovered my love for driving šŸ’™

Heartbreaking to see this today. My thoughts go out to the family and friends devastated by this. It is my biggest fear ...
06/10/2026

Heartbreaking to see this today. My thoughts go out to the family and friends devastated by this. It is my biggest fear having boys approaching this age, that they won’t see any other option than to take their own life. Please parents, please talk to your kids, or get a trusted adult to talk to them, do whatever it takes to let them know that anything they are suffering is only temporary and that they are loved and needed šŸ’™

Shared by a friend - I think a lot of first responders can relate to this! Thanks for sharing with me Shane šŸ’™Having brea...
04/10/2026

Shared by a friend - I think a lot of first responders can relate to this! Thanks for sharing with me Shane šŸ’™

Having breakfast at Wharf One this morning, I noticed the beautiful view across the water and walked out onto the wharf to take it in.

As I got closer to the edge, instinct immediately kicked in: be careful, don’t get too close in case you fall.

Then another thought came — what if a young child wandered out here unsupervised?

And just like that, my mind went back to the drownings and deaths involving children that I attended during my years as a police officer.

It was such a peaceful setting, but in a matter of seconds my brain had gone from appreciating the view to assessing risk and remembering some of the worst moments of the job.

I suppose it goes to show that you never completely leave a career in first response behind. Some instincts, and some memories, stay with you.

I’m going to say something that apparently still needs saying.Domestic violence is domestic violence.Yesterday, another ...
29/09/2026

I’m going to say something that apparently still needs saying.

Domestic violence is domestic violence.

Yesterday, another person allegedly lost their life at the hands of their partner. This time, the victim was a man.

And almost immediately, the comments started.

ā€œWhat did he do?ā€

ā€œThere has to be more to the story.ā€

ā€œMaybe she was trying to get away.ā€

Why?

Why, when the victim is a man, do some people immediately start searching for the part of the story that might justify what happened to him?

I spent 10 years in policing. I attended more domestic violence incidents than I could ever count.

I saw female victims.

I saw male victims.

And yes, sometimes it looked different.

With male victims, I often saw psychological and emotional abuse. Control. Manipulation. Threats. Humiliation. Isolation. Behaviour designed to break someone down rather than leave a bruise.

I also saw physical violence against men.

And do you know what we called it?

Domestic violence.

Acknowledging male victims doesn’t take a single thing away from women experiencing domestic violence.

It doesn’t need to.

This isn’t a competition.

We don’t need to decide which gender suffers more before deciding whether an individual victim deserves our compassion.

We don’t need to diminish one group to advocate for another.

And we sure as hell shouldn’t be asking what a dead person might have done to deserve being killed.

If we’d be disgusted hearing ā€œwhat did she do?ā€ underneath a story about a woman allegedly killed by her partner, we should be equally disgusted hearing it when the victim is a man.

We can talk about the different ways domestic violence affects men and women.

We can talk about statistics.

We can talk about prevention.

But surely the starting point can be incredibly simple:

Nobody deserves domestic violence.

Not women.

Not men.

Not anyone.

Stop making victims compete for our compassion.

Domestic violence is domestic violence.

Our hearts are broken at the tragic loss of one of our NSWPF sisters in blue. Our thoughts also extend to the colleagues...
25/09/2026

Our hearts are broken at the tragic loss of one of our NSWPF sisters in blue. Our thoughts also extend to the colleagues who had to respond and handle such a traumatic and confronting scene. RIP Constable Lay, we have the watch šŸ’™

23/09/2026

Still cannot believe I own my dream car! It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I got my licence around the start of the Fast and Furious movies (god I’m old!) and all I ever wanted was a R34 Skyline ā¤ļø

I saw something the other day and saved it because I wanted to ask my boys these questions tonight. Im always open to ne...
20/09/2026

I saw something the other day and saved it because I wanted to ask my boys these questions tonight. Im always open to new things and ways to see how I’m going as a Dad, because to me being a parent is the most important job you’ll ever have. You are literally growing the next generation of men and women, and how they are raised will directly impact how they live their lives.

So I asked. And although I knew they’d give the sweetest answers, it still made me so emotional hearing them describe what we have, our relationship and our family, so innocently. My two favourite questions they answered were #4 and #5. I thought for sure they would say they were good at soccer, and that would be it. What I wasn’t expecting was them telling me how they are good at being kind, and caring, and good big brothers, and honest. As someone who continues to struggle with the whole ā€œself loveā€ thing, hearing them speak so beautifully about themselves melted me. Then their answer to question 5, which was an immediate YES, says to me they know that no matter what, no matter how bad things seem or how hopeless it feels, they can ALWAYS tell us and we will do what we can to help.

Was I nervous before I asked them? Sure I was, you never really know what kids can come out with šŸ˜‚ but I feel like these little ā€œcheck insā€ along the way make such a difference, because a lot of the time kids don’t know somethings not right until you ask them.

I’d love for people to give it a go and let me know how you went šŸ’™

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