Lukas Webb hoping to reframe the conversation around mental health with new AFLPA campaign

[bornadog]

Link

FOOTBALL can produce the most triumphant of highs and the most harrowing of lows, yet often its importance can be made miniscule by life’s realities.
For Western Bulldogs young gun Lukas Webb, its ups and downs were put into perspective on one fateful evening in 2015.

The night of an Australia Day party hosted at Webb’s family home near Lakes Entrance, he would see his good mate Jake for the last time. Described by the young Bulldogs midfielder as “one of the happiest people we knew”, Jake suddenly and unexpectedly took his own life.

Aged only 18 at the time and just a few months into his AFL career, Webb concedes he was lost when faced with the prospect of having to return to normal life just a few days later.
Due to fly to a pre-season training camp in Mooloolaba, Webb admits he had no idea what to do or expect.
However, overwhelmed and inspired by the warmness, generosity and kindness of his teammates when he did ultimately return to the football club, Webb’s focus turned to how he could help those in a similar position to his mate.

Now 20 years of age but speaking with a sense of maturity far beyond his years, Webb says the way in which the club guided him through the following weeks assisted him through the grieving process. He’s now hoping other young men will realise the impact being part of such a tight-knit group can have in recovering from depression and anxiety.

“The support I received from my teammates and the whole footy department was overwhelming,” Webb says. “The way they got around me was absolutely outstanding. It’s a weird thing, but it definitely brought us all closer.”
Webb went public with his tragic story earlier this year and, inspired by the positive reaction he received, is now one of the key contributors to an AFLPA campaign called ‘Better Out Than In’.

The initiative, in conjunction with Beyond Blue, the Movember Foundation, MATES in Construction, La Trobe University and the AFLCA, hopes to combat the stigma around mental illness and help to spark conversations around depression and anxiety.
Lukas Webb as part of the AFLPA’s Better Out Than In campaign.

Source: Supplied

Aimed at young men often plagued by the negative connotations surrounding mental health issues, Webb hopes the campaign gives those suffering a place where they can relate to others facing a similar prospect.
“I just want people to realise they’re not alone,” he says. “There are a lot of people that are suffering out there and one conversation can go a long way in saving lives. If this campaign can save one person’s life, it would be amazing. But we’re aiming to help save a lot of lives.”

While the initial conversation around mental health is confronting and often the most challenging aspect of dealing with the issue, it’s also the most important.
For those suffering, eliminating the negative associations around depression and anxiety could be crucial. Therefore, sparking that first discussion is an essential part of what the campaign hopes to achieve.
While Webb says no one was aware of what Jake was going through, he believes a conversation between mates wouldn’t have altered their relationship in any way.

“It wouldn’t have changed the way that I would have responded or any of our mates would have responded,” Webb says. “If he had come up and said ‘hey, I’m struggling a bit, I need some help’, no one would have batted an eye lid. We would have given an arm and a leg to help him out.”

One in eight men will suffer from depression in their lifetime, with the campaign hoping to reduce the stigma, secrecy and self-reliance prevalent within male-dominated industries like the AFL.
“It’s a pretty old-school industry and there’s always been an old-school way of looking at it,” Webb says. “But I think footy clubs have come a long way in recent times in terms of player wellbeing.

“The mental side of footy is going forward in leaps and bounds and I think a lot more clubs are aware of it these days. Not just AFL clubs, but a lot of local clubs are aware of how mental health can affect young men and women.”


Webb credits the support of his teammates for helping him through a difficult period.

Source: Supplied

Webb says he’s been encouraged by the way in which the AFL industry has responded to stories of overcoming mental health issues and hopes the ‘Better Out Than In’ campaign will continue to aid young people in recovering from matters like depression and anxiety.

However, he also wants the campaign to act as the first small steps in a greater push to reframe the conversation around mental health.
“It’s definitely a lot more common for people to speak out and say how they’re feeling,” Webb says.
“It’s a hard one because it probably used to be frowned upon, to speak up and say that you’re struggling, but that’s just an old school way of looking at it — being told to suck it up and get on with it. I think that’s just the way mine and everyone’s parents were taught, they were told to get on with their day-to-day lives.

“The way footy clubs are going, whether it’s AFL or at local level, I think we’re taking great steps in terms of it being okay to speak out and say how you’re feeling.
“I think we can do a lot more at a local level, in terms of workshops and stuff like that. Even if it’s a fundraising nights, where you just have a few small chats, I think we can do a lot more in that sense.
“But in the AFL, they’ve taken a lot of great strides in the right direction.”

For help or information call Lifeline on 131 114, Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or visit betteroutthatin.com.au.

[bornadog]

We have some great young men at the club.

[1eyedog]

I love this kid.

[bulldogtragic]

I love this kid.

It takes a lot of courage to be the face of something most people don't understand and some people fear. The amount of good he will do talking about this is incalculable. Good on him at his tender age to channel the passion to do this.

[LostDoggy]

Great to see this side of Lukas. Our holistic policies when assessing potential draftees certainly seems to be paying dividends as we are forming a squad of outstanding young men.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Great to have people like Lukas representing us

Hope he plays a cracker tomorrow night

[Smads57]

Terrific interview with the young player. He has worked hard in the VFL in his new midfield role and last week-end against NM we seen some of the benefits of that hard work. Looking forward to watching him the rest of this season and what he can bring to the side in 2017 after another pre-season. We need players like him with a good left foot.

[Remi Moses]

A ripping young bloke