Chlöe Swarbrick is a member of New Zealand’s Parliament who is speaking out on the importance of mental health. She states, “...in an environment where mental health concerns permeate near every community across our country, I believe there's a responsibility to be frank and real about the issue.”
Swarbrick is not only encouraging others to be open about mental health, but she has also opened up publicly about her own struggles with mental health. “I see my psychologist regularly. I have a history of anxiety and depression. I'm the one-in-six New Zealand adults who has been diagnosed with a "common mental disorder" at some point in their lives.”
This came just a few days after the New Zealand Chief Coroner released their annual suicide statistics. “They are the highest they've ever been. Each of those figures is the life of an incredible person with whānau and friends who'll be experiencing immense loss. Each of those numbers is a tragedy,” says Swarbrick.
Read more about Swarbrick’s stance on opening up about mental health in the NZ Herald’s article, “Chlöe Swarbrick: There's a responsibility to be frank and real about mental health”.