Turning challenges into community support: Leah Turton

Speaker 1 00:00

Brainwaves. Hear the world differently. Bringing community mental health to you, raising awareness and challenging stigma. Tune in to 3CR Community Radio, Wednesdays at 5pm.

Speaker 2 00:13

... time radio program featuring community organisations, powerful stories and information. Find us at brainwaves .org .au, proudly sponsored by Wellways Australia.

Speaker 3 00:27

I would like to begin by paying my respects to the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, who are the traditional custodians of the land on which I am coming to you from today. Land where at brainwaves we tell our stories, and land where the traditional custodians have told their stories for many, many years before us, and continue to tell their stories. I would like to pay my respects to elders past and present, and acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners who are listening today.

Speaker 4 01:00

Hello and welcome to Brainwaves on 3CR 855AM on your dial via the app or the online stream. My name is Flick Manning and I'm your host. Joining me today on the show is Leah Turton. Leah has lived with Crohn's disease for 16 years. She's undergone extensive surgeries, has lived experience with anxiety, PTSD, depression, adoption, domestic violence, and parental alienation. She also created My 2 Feet, a business where she promotes inclusivity, awareness of invisible illnesses like Crohn's disease and mental illness. And it's a real pleasure to have her on the show today. So Leah, welcome to the show.

Speaker 5 01:37

Oh, thank you for having me. I can't wait to get started.

Speaker 4 01:41

Well, you don't have to wait long because we are diving right in there. So, Leah, what does the term mental health mean to you?

Speaker 5 01:49

Mental health to me is basically how healthy your brain is really, what sort of comes to mind when it comes to the way you feel, the way you act, how you portray yourself, and that can come about by different experiences, you go through different situations you're involved in, and different scenarios, I think they all portray, you know, different sides of your emotional and mental well-being, a sense that, you know, your mental health can be determined by what others say, and you, you know, you can act either positively or negatively towards it, so in a sense it's really about the health of your brain and what your thoughts and feelings are, that's my take on what mental health is.

Speaker 4 02:51

I like that take because I think you're right that it is sort of there's sort of contexts and circumstances that influence your mental health and that can change on a day-to-day basis. And I think that's something that we don't actually think about too often. We think about it more as this diagnostic sort of aspect of it, like as if it's constant, but I think actually mental health shifts all the time based on those circumstances. So I think you've highlighted that really well. Now, what has made you want to become a more public advocate for things like mental illness and chronic disease when many people really try to keep them hidden? So what's inspired you to talk about it?

Speaker 5 03:34

Okay, yeah, this is a really good topic for me. Really good question. So to me, I think it's really, really important to be upfront and honest, especially when it comes to dealing with anybody and everybody in your life, because I feel the more they understand you, the more they can learn to understand what you're going through, the more they may be able to, you know, look for ways to, you know, educate themselves and in ways that they can support you and help you and hopefully not trigger you. But also, I think it's important to be able to be a voice for people that, like myself, well, like I used to be, that do want to hide away and do feel the stigma that surrounds, you know, mental health or chronic illness, physical illness.

I really want to be a voice for them and promote the fact that despite, you know, your condition, your, you know, whether it's neurological or physical or internal, you are still you, you are still a blessing, you know, you are just a unique person that shouldn't be afraid to come out, you shouldn't hide behind the stigma that is attached with that side of things. Because you can still do things in a way, it might not be how everybody else can do it, but you can still do them to the best of your capabilities. And I think everybody should be able to do that without having to hide away and without worrying about what anybody thinks.

So I've decided to do that, you know, to do that side of things and be open about it because the more somebody can understand me, the more they can help me. And I feel that the more people that understand the importance of that and how they can probably not be afraid to, you know, put yourself out there and by being upfront and honest and open.

Speaker 4 05:42

I love that. I love how quickly that sort of response about being upfront and honest came to you at the forefront of that sort of answer. And I think that's such a beautiful way of putting it. I think so many people certainly that I've spoken to who have the experience of mental illness and also maybe at the same time have chronic illness, they often talk about that, the sort of feeling of honesty of just being able to share exactly who they are and how important that has actually been in their road, in their journey of learning how to live quite well with the conditions that they're dealing with. So I really commend you for getting out there and talking about it. It takes a lot of us for doing it. Yeah. And to actually make that change, it's very important. And it's important that we stretch ourselves outside of our comfort zones too sometimes.

Yes, very much so. So Leah, in terms of your advocacy, just following that path a little bit more, you have been very open on social media and your website about your journey, even documenting what you have learned, say, for example, from previous surgeries and how you've used that self-awareness to adapt to the changing needs of your body and your mind. And I respect that a lot because it does take a lot of work and commitment to become sort of that self -aware. Now on the back of your most recent major surgery, which is very recent in this circumstance, would you say that there's anything new that you feel you've learned about mental health and physical health, the access or the connection between the two that you didn't know previously or he had your eyes opened in some sort of way by this most recent surgery?

Speaker 5 07:22

Yes, that's a great question. It's funny to say that, actually, my first surgery occurred about two months after I was diagnosed in 2008. And basically, it was a massive resection at Aliostomy. It was the removal of a huge abscess that they missed. And basically, the day after that surgery, I was set up without any pain medication or notification that that was what was happening. I was set up for a shower. That was fine. Got over that. Got to the shower and ended up having to shower myself, which was either worse, but that's OK.
I basically told myself from that day forward that if I can tolerate that much pain then, then whatever comes my way, as long as it doesn't surpass that, then I'd be happy to just go the flow and see how things go and just accept that that's part of the condition.

And anyway, so fast forward 16 years to my recent surgery. I actually learned that there's different aspects of pain and what we consider pain. And my recent surgery, it brought to light a pain that I never actually thought of. Just a different kind of response from the body that took me a little while to accept and to move forward with. But it just reminded me to always be open and just to try and roll with the punches as they happen, because it's just imperative to roll with the punches and set yourself a baseline. And if you can tolerate it, because it's not as bad as what you previously experienced, then that's great. And then go from there, if it is worse, then just find that courage that you've got in there to continue on and to push past it.

And it's incredible what people have to go through when it comes to chronic pain and mental well-being. It's important, especially when it comes to coping with it in little milestones from sitting up, walking around after surgery, eating. All of those things should be taken on board as pluses and celebrated, because they all help with your mindset. And that I think is where the mental and physical link from my point of view.

Speaker 4 10:14

Yeah, great answer. I completely agree with you on that. Now, so what are some of the biggest differences would you say in your mindset between your life before illness became part of the norm versus now when it is part of the norm?

Speaker 5 10:30

So, back in the day, well, I got diagnosed when I was 27. So that's, I won't tell you how long ago that was, but it was a while ago. So, okay, so the difference then was, when I was diagnosed, I just, oh yeah, I shoved it under the mat, knew nothing about what my condition was, just, yeah, okay, I'll take my medication, this, that and the other. There was just no care whatsoever. And then, yeah, the first surgery hit, and as soon as I got over that, carried on, just, yeah, okay, that's it. I thought that was going to be the end of it. But the last 16 years have taught me the importance of really, you know, taking the time to learn as much as you can about your condition and, you know, really take on board the advice that your doctors are giving you, you know, whether it's going down the natural path or, you know, the medical path.

I think it's, you know, the 16 years have taught me that it's important to know your condition and have people around you that really want to be there. I mean, I've lost a lot of friends in that due to not understanding my condition or not taking the time to learn what it is, you know, about it and what they can do to support me. And I think most importantly, not taking on board the fact that there's support for them also, not just me, but there is support out there for carers, you know, partners of those that have just been diagnosed with a chronic condition. And I'll tell you what, if you don't, you know, if you don't take heed of the, you know, the education surrounding your condition or the support that's out there, then, yeah, it's going to be a tough road.

I mean, like I said, I've lost friends and families because I don't understand my condition. Didn't really want to be a part of, you know, the situation, particularly the last eight years that's been the roughest for me. And, you know, that's really been my lesson, is being uneducated and blasé about something as opposed to now living it and educating myself and knowing what to look for, you know, being hypervigilant about certain changes, you know, that my body's making to jump on board and really, you know, understand what's going on and having that support network around you to, you know, push you down and put you in this little box where, you know, you're hidden away from the world because, you know, your condition or the stigma surrounding chronic illness, you know, is that, oh, you know, you've got a chronic illness, you can't do this, you can't do that, you know, whatever people think or think.

Get away from that and find a support network that pushes you out there, pulls you out of that box and tells you you're awesome and, you know, backs you up as your advocate for really, you know, boosting your confidence and telling you you are awesome irrespective of how you do things. Just, yeah, it's important.

Speaker 4 14:03

Couldn't agree with you more, Leah. Couldn't agree with you more. The people that surround you are extremely important. I think that's very highlighted in chronic illness and mental illness. I think, weirdly enough, all human beings do require that. We all need our own sheer squad in life to some extent, but I think it's even more profoundly important, it becomes maybe much more obvious when you're dealing with a chronic illness and mental illness, so I fully and completely get that.

Leah, now you've had a lot of large events really happen in your life. I mean, at the beginning, I went through some of the different things that you have experienced in your life, parental alienation, you've got all these surgeries from your chronic illness, we've got domestic violence, we've got a whole range of different things in there, so you've really been stretched and challenged, as many of us often are, when we've got multiple things that have happened in our journey, but from that you've clearly learned a lot and experienced a lot that shapes the kind of work that you're doing, especially in regards to sort of the advocacy side of things. Could you take us through a challenging mental health moment for you from within any of those sort of journeys and describe, I guess, what you have learned coming through it to where you are today?

Speaker 5 15:23

Yeah, sure. That's a great question. So, as you discussed, I've got experience with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Now, depression was, you know, was quite a difficult one. It took me about five years to understand that, you know, I needed what I needed to do, basically, I needed to accept my condition and accept the fact that I may not be able to do things, you know, a conventional way, but I can still do them, and I'll do them, you know, in my time. And once I realised that I was able to put in, you know, into place coping mechanisms for different scenarios, which I knew would trigger or could possibly trigger, you know, depression, and that's bad news from the doctor or anything along those lines.

Anxiety. Now, that was a good one until recently. I had that under control for the first time in about 13 years. My early ostomy actually gave me the freedom to travel on my own, not have to hunt out, you know, a toilet where, unfortunately, if you're in public and you've got the wrong person next to you or at the basin who likes to point out just how, you know, terrible your events in the bathroom work. Without even asking, you know, what the issue is. So I had that anxiety, you know, for 13 years about using the bathrooms, public bathrooms, traveling and that. So my early ostomy actually brought me all that freedom.
I didn't have to worry about any of that side of things. But unfortunately, due to my reversal, that side of things are something to come back a little. So I'm hoping to put into place some, you know, coping mechanisms that I've kind of learned from the depression side of things that will hopefully help me with that.

PTSD. Now, that's an interesting one. I was able to use, you know, some of my coping mechanisms from depression to deal with it. It's still ongoing and I still get triggered. But basically, you know, loud noises, any form of violence, you know, whether it's in a movie, you know, I shone away from it. Initially, that's still an ongoing issue with me, unfortunately. But the depression and anxiety side of things are pretty much under control. So yeah, it's tricky.

Speaker 4 18:02

So it sounds like as if you've had obviously with your different mental health conditions, you've been able to kind of start to work out what your triggers are and how to cope with some of those. So obviously, some of these conditions that we've been sort of touching on today are ones that people do often keep quite silent. And in fact, even the media and all sorts of other different places are often very silent about these sorts of things. And that can actually pose a real barrier for people to get the support that they need, or to even be aware that there is support available for them in the first place.

It's a little bit like out of sight, out of mind with a lot of this kind of stuff. So as somebody who obviously is out there publicly advocating for awareness and for people to feel included and safe and accepted, if you were in possession of a magic genie that what changes would you put in place to make the pathway for people experiencing chronic illness, you know, domestic violence or mental health just that little bit easier to traverse?

Speaker 5 19:11

Sure. Oh, I love that. I wish that would happen. So basically, I think the most important thing is educating your children at home. I think it all starts there. So if I could put a program out there that helped people to, you know, in their everyday life where they, when they spend time teaching the kids or educating the kids whether it's reading a book, what have you. If I had the money to maybe create a series of books that, you know, people can use educate people about, you know, different chronic illnesses, neurological illness, sorry, neurological conditions and or physical disabilities. I think that would really help with a sense that, you know, when kids come across that they're not going to point out to that person because they look different or because they act different. 

You know, I think at the end of the day, it all comes down to education. So if I could put a program in place that educated our kids, even the adults out there. So an education, an educational program would be the one thing that I would definitely put on place because with acceptance, you know, comes understanding, with comes vulnerability, I guess, of those like me that do hide away, you know, and that that's super important. And the most important thing I want to do is to help people to, you know, come out of their shell and not be afraid of who they are, crumbled piece of paper or a flat piece of paper. If you want to put it, you know, that's just a scenario or in context with the stigma that's out there, we're all the same. You know, it's all still the same piece of paper and we all deserve the right to or should have the right to put ourselves out there.

Speaker 4 21:06

Love it, love it, love it, love it. And you know what, like all of the data and stuff supports it too. It's not just sort of, you know, like a pipe dream idea. It's a really, it's a really solid one. I mean, kids that, for example, kids that are, you know, come into contact with say, for example, food intolerances or triggers when they are young, if they are educated, for example, on how to cook for themselves with the ingredients that they can have and become aware of those things, they actually will just automatically start asking people, adults and children around them every time there's food, you know, do you have any allergies? Is there, you know, can you eat this? Is this okay for you? So it's actually amazing how simple it is for children to adopt these kinds of very simple accessible practices. 

It's often the adults, I think that, you know, they have been left for long enough time. They don't realise how important it actually is. But I think it's when children are being educated, their parents are being educated at the same time. So I'd love that idea. Exactly. That's right. Thank you. It's a two for one deal. You know, what can get better than that? What has surprised you the most about the public perception of mental illness and chronic illness?

Speaker 5 22:21

Oh, it's interesting. The lack of empathy, actually. I think I touched based on scenarios that happened to me, you know, when my gastrointestinal system is complete like it is now, going to a public bathroom, you know, because that particular event might have been quite upsetting for me, getting the abuse of comments or the judgment or looks, you know, not understanding that that particular person might have an issue, you know, internal issue that they've got no control over.

I mean, I don't run out there and want to make, you know, all the horrible noises and whatever is happening with my system that day on purpose. I don't, you know, I don't run out there to, you know, to cause a scene. I mean, that's never my intention. The last thing somebody in my shoes wants to do is bring attention to themselves because, you know, at times it does make you embarrassed. So I think, you know, just lack of empathy, lack of compassion, lack of understanding, lack of education.

I think that's the most important things I think that people could try and work on. I think, you know, my father had a brain hemorrhage and a stroke when I was 12 and, you know, I vowed and declared that, you know, I was going to protect them and do whatever I could and but nothing prepared me for the comments and the looks and the misunderstanding and the judgments that come about with somebody that doesn't look the same or doesn't act the same, you know, and I think that really encouraged me to be empathetic, you know.

Speaker 4 24:16

I wholeheartedly agree with you. Leah, I've really enjoyed getting to know the person behind the blog and behind the social media. It's been really, really good. And I, again, commend you on the advocacy work that you are doing. It's not an easy road to take, but it's so, so important. And I will certainly be cheering on you as you go through this journey. So thank you very much for being on the show today. Thank you.

Speaker 5 24:40

Thank you very much. Thank you for your time and I've just stoked that I got to do my first interview with Youth League. You're an inspiration and somebody I aspire to be like because you're just out there yeah being you and that's what I want to do too and try and help as many people as possible along with you so thank you.

Speaker 4 25:02

Thank you very much. My gosh, I'm ending on a nice warm, fuzzy everybody. And I hope that you are, I think you'll have somebody in your life giving you a warm fuzzy. If not, give it to yourself today because you all deserve it. And Leah, thank you again. Now you can reach out to Leah, if you want to chat or learn more about the sort of subjects that she talks about at my2feet .com .au and also on her Instagram and Facebook page, we will post those links as well.

So you can get straight through to Leah and make contact with her. And as I wrap up the show, as I always do, I want to remind you that your mental health is of equal importance to your physical health. So if you are yet to nurture and align them together today, now's your chance. So take a nice big inhale, a lovely deep exhale. And as always, remember to show yourself in the kindness that you so easily give to others. I look forward to chatting with you next time on Brainwaves.

Speaker 6 26:00

If you're wrestling with feelings of anxiety, worry and depression or finding the current social isolation measures hard to deal with, we would like to encourage you to call Wellways Helpline. Wellways Helpline is a volunteer support and referral service that provides information to people experiencing mental health issues or other disabilities, as well as their family, friends and carers. We're here to talk if you are seeking information about mental health or mental health services or just need someone to talk to. As a peer -based service, everyone working at Wellways Helpline has a lived experience of mental health issues or disability.

Wellways Helpline is a national service and operates Monday to Friday, 9am to 9pm, excluding public holidays. If you feel it would be helpful to talk to someone about these issues during this difficult period, please call Wellways Helpline on 1300 111 500, that's 1300 111 500. Wellways supports 3CR.