'In My Mind' tackles mental health issues - head on

New Zealand documentary series, In My Mind takes a dive into the lives of prominent Kiwi males, Paul Whatuira, Willy de Wit and David Downs as they tackle their own mental health issues - head on.

A home-grown documentary series that’s encouraging the message ‘it’s not weak to speak’, In My Mind tackles issues such as suicide, anxiety and middle-aged depression. Broken into two parts In My Mind will launch with In My Mind | Breaking Point, 11am Sunday 16 June, TVNZ1, followed by In My Mind | Mid Life Crisis, 11am 23 June, TVNZ1.

Exploring the pressures faced by professional footballers and league players, In My Mind | Breaking Point looks at how for many players, the dream of playing professional football isn’t always what it’s made out to be.

According to former NRL superstar Paul Whatuira, as a professional athlete, “you’re supposed to be a physically strong mentally tough person, almost like a mini super-hero… But with the highs come the lows.”

Faced with pressure to perform on the field, constant media scrutiny, the burden of providing for a family when your career and ability to earn a living could be over at any time through injury or underperformance, not to mention the fraught transition to life after an elite sporting career – you have all the ingredients for psychological struggles.

In My Mind | Breaking Point follows Whatuira who endured a public breakdown at the tail end of his career and spent the next five years on a path to finding his mental well-being.

Whatuira is now a motivational speaker. He explains, “I don’t have a degree in psychology, but I do have a degree in pain. I know my strengths and one of these strengths is to change the mindset into a positive one. Everyone has the right to self-confidence.”

In My Mind | Mid Life Crisis explores depression at a time when for some, many of life’s biggest challenges knock on the door and put a heavy strain on mental health.

In My Mind | Mid Life Crisis, delves into the lives of William McGechie aka Willy de Wit and David Downs – long-time friends and former entertainers with a string of Kiwi comedies between them.

When Willy hit the ‘mid-life trifecta’ surviving a marriage breakdown, redundancy and a near-fatal stroke, and David beat life-threatening cancer the two went about creating a show called ‘For a Limited Time Only’. The show was a light-hearted take on their close encounters with death, getting through the dark times and the luck they’ve had in being given a second chance in life.

As Willy tells it, "I've been on an extraordinary journey. I can’t believe I almost physically died - to feel mentally well again."

In My Mind | Breaking Point
Episode TX date: 16 June

In My Mind | Mid Life Crisis
Episode TX date: 23 June

TVNZ1 Sundays at 11am
OnDemand https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/attitude
and then on AttitudeLive

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