You can only pick yourself up and dust yourself off so many times, insists Warren Davies.
The leading rural mental health advocate, popularly known as The Unbreakable Farmer, speaks a lot about "resilience", "persistence" and "determination" in his chats across the country.
But Mr Davies knows all too well the price you can pay for blindly soldiering on through tough times.
Of the penalty that came with the "total disregard for my own mental health".
That's why, when he speaks about resilience, his message might well surprise listeners.
"Resilience is knowing when you need to stop and take stock of where you are at," he says.
The ex-dairy farmer and father of five, who describes himself as the "normal bloke down the road", learnt his lessons the hard way.
He will share the journey of piecing his life back together at a special community gathering at Corryong, Vic, on August 12.
The inaugural 'Corryong Spirit - A Survivors of Suicide & Friends' event aims to recognise the courage of people in the Upper Murray and reflect on the lives lost after the 2019 bushfires.
The event is being co-ordinated by several local families and supported by Albury-Wodonga Winter Solstice founders Annette and Stuart Baker, Towong council and many community organisations.
The free event will open with a prayer by Corryong Baptist Church pastor Graeme van Brummelen and include a special performance of The Blessing by local singers Renata Coppola, Ruth McKelvey and Caz Pitman.
Corryong CFA will be on hand to serve warming winter fare including soup made by local school students.
Warren Davies will be joined by fellow speaker Layne Stretton, a suicide prevention facilitator and CEO of Sport and Life Training.
Mr Stretton has developed workshops to increase the capacity of people with a lived experience of suicide to actively engage in suicide prevention within their communities.
That 'Corryong Spirit' has been generated by the community for the community is particularly powerful, according to Mr Davies, who is no stranger to the Upper Murray.
"Grassroots recovery is really important," he explains.
It's in shared stories - the power of "shared wisdom" - that communities can find their strength and connection, Mr Davies says.
"Communication and community is vital," he says.
"When I was at my lowest point, it's what you disconnect from."
There's a lot to this farmer's story.
Mr Davies, based at Kyabram in Victoria, reckons his battle with mental health began when he had to grapple with the harsh realities of going out on his own as a farmer.
High interest rates, low commodity prices, flood and drought had an impact, not least on which was the effect on his mental health.
Going into business with his mum and dad would later result in a "bust-up" on the farm, he says in a candid video for the You Got This Mate campaign in 2020.
"It had a big effect on me.
"But I think ... really that mental health journey started around the flood because it was the first challenge Mother Nature threw at us.
"But then the drought hit and I started to withdraw; I just didn't speak to people about how I was feeling ...
Instead Mr Davies thought if he worked harder, got up earlier, "I could outsmart Mother Nature".
"It just made it worse because I was struggling with mental health challenges but I was also sleep deprived, which is not a very good combination - and it just spiralled out of control from there.
"I felt like I was letting my family down, I was letting my cows down, I was letting everyone down and I felt like a failure."
Grassroots recovery is really important.
- Warren Davies (The Unbreakable Farmer)
At the urging of his wife, Mr Davies sought help.
It took six times before he found someone to engage with who actually understood "all the jigsaw puzzle bits" contributing to him being in a really dark place.
And while he made a promise to himself that he would get better, Mr Davies says the biggest challenge was acknowledging what was going on.
"(And) understand there's nothing wrong with feeling the way you feel; especially as a farmer and a bloke, it's okay to have emotions ..."
Being an active member of community is one of Mr Davies' coping strategies and, in a strange twist of fate, it would bring him to the Upper Murray - and into the lives of dairy farmers Elise and James Hill - in the wake of the devastating 2019 bushfires.
What none of them could have foreseen was that only months later the Hills would lose their eldest son Sam to suicide in 2020.
"It rocked me," admits Mr Davies who was in almost daily contact with the family after Sam's death.
"I felt very close to it ..."
Earlier this year Mr Davies shared a meal with the Hill family at their farm where he met some of Sam's friends.
"It was a very emotional day," he says.
"You realise with such clarity that even two years down the track the impact is still so raw - and it will never be any different," Mr Davies says.
An event like 'Corryong Spirit' is vitally important, particularly given opportunities for the community to come together have been limited due to COVID-19, he adds.
Only recently, a mental health outreach nurse from Gateway Health shared with Mr Davies she was "really concerned about how things are on the ground".
It's why this down-to-earth bloke - who often uses his love of AFL (the "real footy") as an ice-breaker at talks - is so passionate about "inspiring conversations" and "empowering people to seek help".
His parting words of advice for anyone truly concerned about the wellbeing and safety of a loved one, is to organise help.
"If you are lost about who to call and it's life-threatening, ring triple-0," he urges.
"I know which friend I'd rather be - even if they never spoke to me again, I'd rather that than stand by and do nothing."
- 'Corryong Spirit - A Survivors of Suicide & Friends' is at Attree Park, Corryong on Friday, August 12 from 5pm to 6.30pm.
- If you or someone you know is struggling there is 24/7 support available at Lifeline: 13 11 14
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