Always More to the Story

This is us. On the outside looking in many would say we have the perfect life. And in many ways we do. We have spent 20 years together and are still madly in love, have four incredible kids, travelled to 15 countries as a family of six (and lived in 4 different countries together prior to kids). Craig has a high profile job that he loves and Bron is self-employed doing work she finds meaningful. We live in a beautiful part of the world, surrounded by pristine beaches. Through nothing other than luck, we have been afforded many layers of privilege – political freedom, access to world class education and health care, loving families…

But this is just part of our story.

Over the last few months we have been sharing with thousands of people on both sides of the globe a different part of our stories. A small part of Craig’s experiences with imposter syndrome, depression and an episode of acute mental distress. A small insight into Bron’s experience as a support person of a loved one with poor mental health. There is always more the story, and we have let you in to part of ours.

Opening up on this scale has not been easy – vulnerability can come with a cost. But we believe it is absolutely the right thing for us to do. On the back of Craig’s Xerocon keynotes, Bron’s blog post ‘From the Shadows‘ and her participation on the Xerocon London wellbeing panel, many people have reached out to us. We have felt honoured to hear your stories, to be told we have given a voice to your own stories, that you feel less alone.

We have challenged you all to be brave and Craig asked who was going to stand up for those around them, stand up for their colleagues, stand up for their children, stand up for their communities. To see the entire audience of approximately 3000 people in each of London and Brisbane standing, many in tears, was both emotional and humbling.

Less than 24 hours after the London event, we started receiving stories of the ways you are standing up in profound ways. People who have been brave and had conversations with those around them that they knew needed to be had but didn’t know where to start, that has led to much needed professional support being sought. People who have gone back to their workplaces and are actioning the provision of EAP for their people.

We are not planning on stopping here. We are on a mission to improve the psychological safety within workplaces, families and communities globally. We all have more to our stories.

This is a collective responsibility.

Who is with us?

#alwaysmoretothestory