1505, 2014

Lua’s Story

By |May 15th, 2014|Depression, Whirlwind Stories|0 Comments

Ala’imalo Lua Maynard
The message I got growing up as a Samoan boy was that violence was necessary to discipline and to get things done. I carried that message into future relationships which all seemed to end prematurely.   It took a while before I decided to seek help. Today my relationships with loved ones have improved and I?m now learning […]

105, 2014

John’s Story

By |May 1st, 2014|Depression, Whirlwind Stories|0 Comments

I never thought of myself as someone who had a mental health problem. I grew up during a time when it was not talked about, or even recognised. And if you did feel a bit down you were told to just ‘shake it off’ and carry on. One certainly didn’t discuss it with others.

But about […]

1504, 2014

Bill’s Story

By |April 15th, 2014|Depression, Whirlwind Stories|0 Comments

Everybody has a breaking point when the pressure of worry or grief overwhelms you.

This has happened to me twice, the last time in my late 40’s when my alcoholic wife divorced me to get her share of our matrimonial assets. Over a period of a few months I lost my wife, our home and finally […]

104, 2014

Tee’s Story

By |April 1st, 2014|Depression, Whirlwind Stories|0 Comments

My story of my mental health begins on a high, and hopefully will also end in one. I am a 27 year old, new radio broadcaster. After graduating from New Zealand Radio school in 2008, (aged 25), graduating very high, 3rd overall, and scholarships along with it. I quickly gained a radio broadcasting job in […]

103, 2014

The Sage of the Stone

By |March 1st, 2014|Depression, Whirlwind Stories|0 Comments

The Saga of the Stone is a short story I wrote back in 1997 (although it’s been revised a bit over the years).

To me it’s a very personal story – because the events and people in it are real. It covers a series of events that happened to me when I was 20, which very […]

103, 2014

Mike’s Story

By |March 1st, 2014|Depression, Whirlwind Stories|0 Comments

I had already experienced first hand what can happen to someone suffering from anxiety and depression and it had shocked me. but I suppose it just never occurred to me that i could suffer from mental health issues too. I had dealt with large workloads before. I had dealt with pressured situations before. As i […]

1502, 2014

Ben’s Story

By |February 15th, 2014|Depression, Whirlwind Stories|0 Comments

In numerous ways, I can’t help but feel that telling my story is a little premature. I can recognise the problems I’ve had and that I continue to have but too frequently still choose to take the path of least resistance and give in to negative, destructive thoughts and emotions rather than choose to fight […]

102, 2014

Scott’s Story

By |February 1st, 2014|Depression, Whirlwind Stories|0 Comments

My name is Scott Harvey and this is a true story of my life in the last 3 years.

February 2007 – Shelly and I decided to move to a farm for a better life for ourselves and our 4 kids. We both worked for burger king, me for 14 years and Shelly 3 years. Shelly […]

1501, 2014

Glen’s Story

By |January 15th, 2014|Depression, Family, Whirlwind Stories|0 Comments

15 years ago the dark clouds of depression crept into my 29 year old mind.
The entire story of my life up until then was about to be rewritten, and the long term effects would dig their claws in for a long time to come.

March 1999 my daughter came into the world at a time where […]

101, 2014

Bill’s Story

By |January 1st, 2014|Depression, Portraits, Whirlwind Stories|0 Comments

This is Bill Anderson. Bill is a larger than life character who spent much of his life as a butcher both in Tawa, NZ and in Australia. He remains a jolly man, who clearly cares for others and enjoys putting a smile on people’s faces. “If I can help someone, I’ll help them. It’s something inside.”

In younger […]