A local firefighter has shared his story to help others for five years through Beyond Blue, a mental health organisation focused on supporting people affected by anxiety, depression and suicide.
Healesville CFA firefighter Cliff Overton, who’d been on the frontline during the Black Saturday bushfires, suffered from a mental illness after the traumatic firefighting experience in 2009.
The local firefighter was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) nine months after the Black Saturday bushfires.
“I was still performing the role working for the fire service, so there was a lot of expectation to continue to perform, but personally, I was quite relieved when I got the diagnosis because then I understood what was going on,” Mr Overton said.
“I took some action with the support of the psychiatrist and thought back then, in late 2009, that was enough.
“Years later, in about 2014, I realised that I was still dealing with it, and then I needed to go and find another psychiatrist and spend probably six to eight months dealing with it.”
Mr Overton changed the hardship he went through into a tool to support others through sharing his experience.
“Back in 2015, when I was off work and dealing with my PTSD, I did some fundraising for Beyond Blue to support their research into emergency worker mental health. Then in 2019, I was asked to speak at a 10th Anniversary Black Saturday CFA Memorial Service. I spoke candidly about my experiences, my illness and how it nearly killed me,” he said.
“I remember the CFA chief at the time coming up to me after I spoke and saying, ‘That’s one of the bravest things I have ever heard.’ I realised that sharing my story could help others, so I did a bit of research and discovered that Beyond Blue had a lived experience speaker program that I could support.
“I joined that program and I have been supporting Beyond Blue as a lived experience speaker for five years now, talking at workplaces and community groups.”
Not only volunteering for Beyond Blue as a lived experience speaker, the firefighter has run a small charity, Good Deed Garage, to raise funds to support organisations such as Beyond Blue for 10 years by rebuilding broken down motorcycles and selling them through raffles.
Good Deed Garage has donated nearly $30,000 to different charities over the past 10 years.
Tinkering with motorcycles has been good for recovering his mental health, along with other relaxing activities like veggie gardening.
When asked about some messages for people with mental health issues, Mr Overton would like to advise them not to hide it but to talk about it.
“If you hide it, it will get worse,” he said.
“It’s the same as if you hurt yourself physically, and you hide it and don’t get any help from anyone, it won’t get better.”
