Greg's journey out of darkness

It started with tiredness.

Greg Fowler went to see a number of doctors, complaining about a lack of energy, but did not get many answers.

"It slowly eroded my emotional stability," said the 44-year-old. "Because I didn't address it, I carried it around on my own, I didn't have any obvious signs. And if you don't say anything you can just say to people you're fine."

He was diagnosed with depression and anxiety two years ago, but reckons it was probably happening for several years before that.

Greg was living in Wellington at the time, and it wasn't until he came back to live in Masterton that he started to deal with it.

"I'd held a lot in for a long time. I came back to Masterton, it was for my mum's 70th birthday. I think I was building towards that anyway. I was exhausted from the weekend and the whole situation. I collapsed into a puddle, and that's when things were addressed."

Greg's GP asked the right questions about his mental well-being to assess what he needed. Together they worked out what medication he needed, but he decided he wasn't quite ready for counselling or therapy.

Two years on he's only just ready to start talking about it with a psychologist.

But he's not shy about his journey - he's part of the Like Minds, Like Mine team which promote awareness of mental health in the community. He met the team at the launch of John Kirwan's book All Blacks Don't Cry, and was asked to be a volunteer.

"That was part of the recovery for me, starting to build things into your life.

"Now I can find different ways of constructing my day-to-day life."

He said public awareness of mental well-being was growing, but some people still didn't know what to say or when to say it.

"If you disagree with someone, or express an opinion, they look at you through the illness. I still have a personality, I still have emotions and opinions."

Greg said he has found good support in his family though, and being in his hometown where people knew him, helped.

More information

You can find out more about Mental Health Awareness Week, which runs October 8 to 14, and this year's theme, Take Notice, by talking with the Supporting Families Wairarapa team at their barbecue beside Paper Plus Masterton between 10am and 2pm today.