To the blokes he kicks the footy to – and enjoys a beer with – he’s the funny guy. The quick-witted one with a tendency to steal the last word.
But when Thomas Zilm wrote the words “it’s okay to not be okay” in a Facebook post this morning – as R U OK? Day and World Suicide Prevention Day coincide – he shocked those closest to him.
“Seven years ago I was diagnosed with clinical depression and have been receiving daily medical treatment ever since,” wrote the Sydney-based lawyer.
“Even my very best mates don’t know this about me.
“I shudder to think what would have happened and where I would be if I hadn’t opened up and told my father, my hero, my role model as a man, what I was really going through underneath my fake smile and the “yeah I’m sweet” attitude.
“It’s the hardest thing I have ever done but also the most rewarding. That was my Everest.”
After losing his best friend to suicide, the now 27-year-old realised his “mood swings” weren’t normal and – once he confided in his father – sought out medical treatment.
But the friends which he’s long kept out of the same dark he battles with daily have today flooded him with messages of support and camaraderie.
“I’ve had messages that it has helped them ask some questions and feel like they are no longer alone,” Zilm tells The Weekly Online.
“I am a bit overwhelmed by it to be honest, but I am absolutely rapt that it seems to have gone a tiny way to rebutting an enormous and largely silent problem for others; and for me.”
One in five Australians suffer from a mental illness and every 40 seconds someone around the world loses their life to suicide.
Talking about it is the first step to prevention. And we figure it would only be fitting to give Zilm the last word.
“The sun doesn’t set when you come to terms with and accept that you have depression. Conversely, it’s when it really begins to shine.”
For support contact Lifeline: 13 11 14
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
