Driving Towards Mental Health

Time behind the wheel is my type of meditation - and im not alone...

One of my favourite roads - a go too for clarity

So last week was Men’s Mental Health week; a worthy initiative that is close to my heart. Usually writing comes relatively easy for me, but this time it was not. Upon introspect I uncovered that the reasons for not writing this piece was the perfect reason to continue on.

Men struggle with mental health, the statistics are compelling and well documented. Men are 3 times more likely to die from suicide, making up three quarters of all suicides. And the stats are going up.

Why is this close to my heart? The answer is twofold. Firstly, I’ve lost a friend to suicide, and it’s the kind of thing you never really let go of. The revolving internal dialogue of whether I could have done anything to help, if I should have reached out more often etc is a real challenge. Secondly, like many, I have suffered from mental health challenges.

Despite having loving and emotionally available family and friends, as a self-confessed stoic, I tend to carry my burdens myself. Most men do, and that’s OK. Today the message of “it ain’t weak to speak” is one that is reverberated in many places. An important reminder to blokes that having a chat or sharing feelings when you’re not feeling the greatest is OK too.

It was this phrase that also appeared in my mind during the introspect I alluded to in the opening paragraph.

Events are a great way to be around like minded people

For me, getting behind the wheel (or handlebars for a little while) was and has always been my outlet. You may be nodding here – I’m certain that I’m not alone.

It could be a late-night drive through some of my favourite winding roads near Sydney. Often ending at a scenic spot for a break, then the return home, which would always be with a different perspective to when I left.

Sometimes it to meet with likeminded friends, or even to events where I can park up and take in the motoring lifestyle. Every weekend there are multiple events dotted around Sydney where one can have a bite or a coffee and check out others’ toys.

Most recently for me it would almost always include a pint size version of myself, there’s two to choose from, who may jump in with dad for the drive. Generally, the accompaniment comes when I take out one of my own cars, but personally it doesn’t matter what I’m driving.

It could be a press car or the daily, because driving for me is a marriage between man and machine. Yes, that’s hyper-romanticised but that’s how it feels. A human wrangling a machine using all 5 senses, commanding it to do what I want, feeling its response, getting to know what its about.

The destination is one thing; it’s getting there that excites me. Whether it’s heading to the shops or getting through a corner with minimal inputs and maximum pace means focus. This focus means everything else in the mind is deprioritise; kind of like meditation, right?

For what feels like forever the motoring lifestyle has been under attack. Meets get shut down with vehicles defected, off-roaders have been having their playgrounds blocked off and vehicle grounded continually and the media, in its one-eyed egotistical ignorance is quick to bandwagon, pandering to the masses who don’t understand why it is that we do what we do.

To be clear, I don’t condone poor behaviour and yes there are some who cannot control themselves. But isn’t that the case across society? In a world where the needs of so many different groups are met under the guise of inclusiveness, and so they should, why is the motoring community continually denigrated?

We have tremendous organisations that are doing amazing work in the motoring world to promote mental health. The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (which also has a Drive variant) set records this year. This year’s even saw a staggering 125,000 participants worldwide contributed to Men’s Mental Health and Prostate cancer charities. Many smaller events fly the flag of mental health and fundraise too.

 What if a late-night drive saved a life? What if the social connection that comes from going to a weekend cars and coffee event means a man lives a little longer. Maybe he makes a new friend that he may feel more comfortable talking too?

Theres a few of us, with a recent study by the Australian Motoring Heritage Foundation revealing that there are 970,000 historic vehicles in Australia, and they’re all owned by motoring enthusiasts.

Surely someone in government needs to understand and support the community, rather than vilify it at every opportunity.

If you are experience mental health challenges and feel like you can’t get support from your loved ones, reach out to Lifeline