What’s it like to share your personal mental health story as a speaker?
Standing before an audience as a speaker, offers an unique view.
A sea of eyes focused on you. Each pair, windows to a feeling soul. An emotional mind, full of vulnerable thoughts carefully nestled away from the neural traffic accompanying the average corporate day.
As you speak, you observe the corporate distraction melting away. The impactful moments in your narrative relating to some more than others.
Immediately, you know you’re not alone in what you’ve experienced.
You continue. Faces soften. Eyes glow with glistening tears. Some faces, desperate for an anchor to steady their their swirling emotions, fix their gaze downward on a patch of stained carpet. Their experience too raw for their eyes to share.
You make a mental note to remind the organiser to “check in” on the downward gazer once you’ve left & emotion dies down.
Predictably, a pivotal moment in your narrative throws open the emotional flood gates. Any remaining formality crumbles. You are no longer the “guest speaker” sharing your story with a client.
You’re an equal. A caretaker holding space for everyone’s untold story as emotions spill throughout the silent room.
It’s an indescribably special moment.
As you move into your recovery story, healing light shines in, emotion dissipate & smiles return.
It was a ride & it was just long enough.
Drawing to a close, one giant exhale overcomes the room & the collective mental processing begins.
Slowly, the hands of curious minds start rising.
How did you go about setting boundaries?
Did you ever ring a 24/ 7 service?
How long did it take for you to retrain your mindset?
When did your energy come back?
How do you connect with someone when you strongly suspect they are struggling?
What advice would you give leaders worried about their team burning out?
What was the response of your employer when you resigned from burnout?
Carefully trained, you are prepared for each. Your response, always considered. Reactions reserved.
Wrapping up, you have to control the sense of overwhelm from the collective gratitude.
It wasn’t that your story was that unique. It’s because it was relatable.
And by bringing it out in the open, you’ve offered a gesture of permission for the conversation to continue.
That’s the gift that comes with finding the courage to share your tale of truth.
It’s deeply humbling. The privilege not lost on me for a minute.
I applied for the Beyond Blue speaker team back in 2021, then COVID got in the way. When they reached out late last year & requested an interview, I really didn’t know what to expect. What I hoped, was it would be a wonderful way of finally being able to share the My Beautiful Mess story & bring awareness to both anxiety & burnout amongst professionals.
If I could support & prevent one person from experiencing what I lived through, the journey would be worth it.
Nine months on & I find it difficult to put into words that worth.
It’s been personally transformative.
Making me more determined than ever to develop, educate & promote sustainable professional practices which nurture well being & minimise the risk of burnout.
Momentum Mindset™ is just the start.
October Corporate Speaking Offer
For mental health awareness month, I’ll be adding to my Beyond Blue volunteer work & starting my corporate speaking service.
It’s an opportunity to start the mental health conversation in your workplace, get to know me, & hear my story living through burnout.
Here’s what one Beyond Blue client has said:
“Peta’s keynote was hard hitting, thought provoking & so relevant to the legal industry as well as the medical device industry. It was so important to encourage us all to reach out if we are struggling, or to anyone around us we notice might be struggling.”
Medibank - Trust Legal & Compliance team
For those organisations who book a keynote, then go on to register teams of 5+ for Momentum Mindset within 6 months, I’ll deduct the speaking cost from the total invoice.
I’ve also made the decision for the Momentum Mindset™ enterprise to support Beyond Blue.
$100 from each course sold, to be donated to Beyond Blue’s 24/7 Support Service.
The Beyond Blue Support Service gives every person in Australia the opportunity to talk through their concerns with a trained mental health professional. People who access the service can receive a brief one on one counselling session to address an immediate concern, as well as advice on how to seek continuing support.
Read more about Beyond Blue’s 24/ 7 Support Service here
With that, I’m wanting to ask a small favour.
I’d be really grateful for any direct e-introduction into an organisation you feel might benefit from my mental health keynote.
Each introduction supports spreading the work & increasing awareness.
With gratitude,
Peta x
Mental Health speaker for Beyond Blue volunteer speakers program
Founder Momentum Mindset™ - Creating Masters of Customer Relationships - an online course with well-being in mind.
Author My Beautiful Mess - living through burnout & rediscovering me
Sales Coach & consultant