Reported comments by Waikato District Health Board interim chief executive Derek Wright and perpetual disappointment and retired ball man Mark Richardson have seen parents being told they need to tell their depressed children to harden up. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes wonders why old men are so committed to pushing children to their limits. Update: The … Read more
If our adult mental health system needs to be restructured, our youth mental health system needs to be completely obliterated and rebuilt from the ground up. This content discusses suicide and may be triggering for some people, if you need help please see a list of helplines at the bottom of this article I’ve been … Read more
A new film following five courageous families healing in the wake of suicide premieres at the NZ International Film Festival this month. Kayne Peters meets the Albert whānau of Maui’s Hook. Content warning: suicide. Suicide is a topic many Kiwis shy away from but the reality is, every three days a young New Zealander takes … Read more
The second season of the teen series 13 Reasons Why will be online tomorrow night. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes outlines what you need to know – because your teen will be watching this show. Content warning: This post contains discussions of mental health and suicide. Last year, The Spinoff Parents heard from a number … Read more
For too long mental health has had awareness campaigns sprinkled out while government action remained pretty much non-existent. Will the mental health and addictions inquiry be another plaster? We need to talk about suicide: this is the phrase you’ll routinely hear in discussions about New Zealand’s mental health crisis. Often it comes alongside well-meaning campaigns … Read more
Many parents of young people have been in touch asking for advice on how to talk to their children about YouTuber Logan Paul’s video in the Aokigahara ‘suicide’ forest in Japan which showed a man who had died by suicide. High school teacher and counsellor Louisa Woods has some tips for parents. Content warning: This post contains … Read more
We’re often given the impression teenagers don’t want to share too much with their parents, but is that really the case? High school counsellor Louisa Woods asked real teenagers how communication with their parents could be improved. Revelations of sexual assaults and harassment by Harvey Weinstein and other prominent men have filled social media feeds … Read more
An essay about being a daughter, being a parent, and protecting your future self from the past. By Laurel Hilton. We were driving round the bend in a 100 km/h zone. It was roughly in the vicinity where I did my driving test as a very pregnant 32 year-old, graduating from a Texan to New … Read more
A personal memoir of mental health, by Paula Harris. Content warning: this essay discusses severe mental health issues, including suicidal ideation. On Tuesdays I go to the pharmacy. That’s the day when I pick up that week’s worth of antidepressants. Someone somewhere thought it’d be fine to manufacture an antidepressant that people can overdose on. … Read more
Mental health workers and suicide prevention strategists tell Jess McAllen that while the public system has its flaws, the unrelenting attention on a ‘broken’ system is dangerous too. This story first appeared on The Wireless. Read the rest of the series here. Six hundred and six pairs of shoes are currently making their way around New Zealand. They … Read more
More needs to be done to help those at risk, so let’s get the facts straight, says Jess McAllen. This story first appeared on The Wireless. Read the rest of the series here. Suicide is a tough issue to talk about. With 606 suicides last year, there’s no doubt more needs to be done to support those most … Read more
Superhot, an innovative critique on the dangers of hype culture and gamer identity, has been ported to virtual reality. But something critical is lost in translation, writes Matthew Codd. Superhot was one of the most inventive games of 2016. I don’t just mean in terms of its clever twist on first-person shooter mechanics – time … Read more
A moving address on the subject of suicide, caring and love, delivered during assembly at New Plymouth Boys’ High School, Te Kura Tamatane Ongamotu, by headmaster Paul Verić, has been creating waves online. Here we republish it in full, with permission. I have been thinking about this topic for some time, boys, and, to be really honest … Read more
The latest episode of Attitude Documentary series In My Mind focused on the mental health of mothers. For Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes, watching it was both a draining, painful experience and a wake-up call about the epidemic of PND in New Zealand. Content warning: This post contains discussions and descriptions of mental health and … Read more
What the hell is Sarah Quigley playing at in her novel about three mentally ill young people on the brink of suicide, wonders Holly Walker. Last week’s “Break the Silence” series by Olivia Carville in the New Zealand Herald was intended to start a national conversation about youth suicide. Are we not already having that … Read more
The NZ Herald’s recent special feature on teen suicide in Northland was a reminder, should anyone need it, of the tragic cost of suicide in New Zealand. It’s time we all started treating suicide as the national emergency it is, writes Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw. What do I want for my children and what do I … Read more
On Thursday Mark Dawson, the editor of the Wanganui Chronicle, published an editorial suggesting that ‘the growing empowerment of women’ is partly to blame for New Zealand’s high rate of male suicide. The Mental Health Foundation’s Sophia Graham responds. Dear Mr Dawson, I read your editorial ‘Tough topic we need to talk about’ with dismay. … Read more
I once attempted suicide, writes Shaun Robinson of the Mental Health Foundation. And I got help. While all of us call for something to be done about our shocking suicide stats, here are three things you can do if you or people you know are going down that path. Yesterday was not a proud day … Read more
Shaun Robinson, the head of the NZ Mental Health Foundation, suggests 13 ways you can start a conversation with young people about the issues raised by the controversial hit show. Content warning: This post contains discussions of mental health and suicide. It seems like everyone is talking about 13 Reasons Why. Some people find it … Read more
It’s the TV show that every teenager is watching – and it features graphic scenes of rape and suicide. We asked an Auckland teenager to share her views on controversial new series 13 Reasons Why and what she wants parents to know about its content. Content warning: This post contains discussions of mental health and … Read more
Dead Dads Club is not a title you’d expect for a Comedy Festival show, but then Sarah Harpur specialises in unexpected comedy. Sam Brooks talks with her about black comedy, the hilarity of grief and the repressed Western approach to death. Content warning: this interview discusses suicide and the experience of grief. Sam Brooks: So why … Read more
Māori youth suicide rates are among the highest in the world. Some of the most affected rangatahi and their families talk to Jessica McAllen, while those at the grassroots striving to tackle the problem explain what they’re up to, and the obstacles they confront. It’s summer in Raumanga and the pool is empty. Drained, awaiting … Read more
How can we stop devastating acts by mothers who are mentally ill? How can we support isolated mothers who are suffering from serious mental health issues? The first step, Julia Kerr believes, is changing the way we talk about mothers and mental illness to protect both children and their parents. Content warning: This post contains … Read more
What do you do when someone you’re close to on Facebook – or someone you hardly know at all – is talking about suicide or exhibiting signs of acute emotional distress? Kyle MacDonald talks to the head of Facebook’s ‘Compassion Team’ to find out how you can help. We Kiwis love Facebook. As a nation … Read more
The suicide helpline Lifeline Aotearoa has been providing essential support to New Zealanders in desperate need since 1964, but a catastrophic funding loss means the service is set to close in 2017. That would be a disaster, says Kristina Hard – one we can’t allow to happen, . In the early hours of the morning, a … Read more
In the midst of a suicide crisis, why are people waiting so long for mental healthcare? Jack Close attempts to find out. Two months ago I stood up to walk to the bathroom and felt nagging pain in my right testicle. After two weeks of ferocious Googling and panicking over questionable WebMD diagnoses, I gave … Read more
Stephanie Johnson reviews Sir Jonathan Bate’s biography of Ted Hughes, a forensic account of his doomed marriage to poet Sylvia Plath. There are people who still blame Ted Hughes for the suicide of his wife Sylvia Plath, who famously gassed herself soon after he left her. Their two small children, Frieda and Nicholas, were in … Read more