Square Peg Round Whole

Smiling on the Outside - A story of Mental Illness, with young adult Zoe Dagassan

October 10, 2021 Lou Kuchel Season 2021 Episode 16
Square Peg Round Whole
Smiling on the Outside - A story of Mental Illness, with young adult Zoe Dagassan
Show Notes

Zoe is Lou's son's best friend.  Zoe is living with mental illness, and like so many others, to look at her and to know her reasonably well, you would never know what’s going on under the surface.  She is so beautiful on the outside and has a beautiful heart and a beaming smile at all times, but no one would ever know the battles within.  

Zoe was recently super brave and spoke to a journalist about the Year 12 students in Australia and their struggles during the COVID pandemic 2021, and she was able to warn the community the “Freedom Day” as we are calling here in NSW, may not necessarily be a pleasant experience for everyone, shining a light on the mental illness and trauma caused by the pandemic restrictions but also the way that the government have taken so much choice and control away from these young adults as they journey through the end of their school lives and the right of passage that has been taken away from them all.  ABC news article is posted on the Square Pege Round Whole Facebook page.  

When listening to this episode, you will notice the unconventional and unexpected ways that young people explain their world.  It is quite confronting and it really challenged Lou, causing constant worry that we may be doing the wrong thing by talking about these issues so openly.  After lots of thought, Lou realised that to censor our young people or to try and make them sound the way we need to hear, would be going against the ethos the Square Peg Round Whole concept and stifling their authenticity, so it was decided to push forward.

Like so many other young people today, Zoe’s story is filled with heartache and trauma but also such promise and light.  

This discussion includes the mention of suicide and listeners need to consider self-care.  The contact details for Lifeline and Headspace are below.

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Resources discussed in this episode:

Lifeline:
https://www.lifeline.org.au/

Headspace:
https://www.headspace.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw-4SLBhCVARIsACrhWLUj6gujqQFgon2wlQzmNjNxvHu5uSrCfVyoVt9pcH7WHn-Fdxc25QwaAhe-EALw_wcB