You aren’t what happens to you – what matters is how you respond.

Destigmatising men’s mental health was the topic of our very first WorkWithPurpose live podcast with Matthew Breen, co-founder Running For Resilience, Matthew Short, assistant secretary child, Youth and Priority Populations, Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, and Lachlan V., general manager, claims management, Comcare hosted by David Pembroke, CEO of contentgroup. We recorded this podcast on 20 November.

There were some incredible insights:

💭 There is a story behind every statistic – always keep that in mind when making policy
💭Some days there is a risk of desensitisation, you need to manage that in yourself
💭Psychological injuries are on the rise – Comcare has resources available to support you in your work
💭You aren’t what happens to you, it matters how you respond
💭Exercise and community can support you
💭Writing your thoughts down can help gain a different perspective
💭Find people you can share your experience with
💭Sometimes an acknowledgement that someone is struggling makes a world of difference
💭RUK Day should be every day – always ask your mates
💭Allow kids from a young age to be vulnerable
💭If you want to support veterans listen to them and believe them
💭 13 per cent of public servants don’t feel comfortable talking about their mental health – this is worth working on
💭Hold space for the men in your lives to be vulnerable
💭Support your partners, friends and colleagues in seeking help.

There were more questions than we could possibly answer in the session, we’ll make sure to come back to them in future episodes of Work with Purpose.

Transcript – a copy of the transcript is available here.
Video – a video of the event is below or can be viewed on the IPAA ACT Vimeo channel.
Spotify- Tune in to the podcast here
Photos – a selection of photos are available below (Photo credit: contentgroup)

Resources

• New Commonwealth Code of Practice in force | Comcare
• Psychosocial hazards | Comcare including Intrusive surveillance | Comcare
• Mental Notes | Comcare stigma awareness program including a Mental health‑related stigma in the workplace: A manager’s resource kit
• Psychosocial risk assessment tools | Comcare
• Psychosocial Health and Safety Forum see Comcare webinars | Comcare and  Psychosocial hazard case studies | Comcare
• Free psychosocial related courses via our Comcare LMS and  Comcare instructor-led training 2025
• Information for APS agencies on accessing the Before Blue: Early intervention mental health support program | Comcare
• WHS laws are changing | Comcare
• Code of Practice: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work
• Good work design
• Comcare training

This event was generously supported by Comcare.