Cameron’s Mental Health series online

Posted Thursday 04 Mar 2021

Cameron’s Mental Health series online

We're thrilled to see the hard work of Michelle Mae Cameron now online! Her series Fight Or Flight aims to raise awareness of the importance of mental health and reduce its stigma.

The seven-series project, two years in the making, was funded by a $10,000 creative grant awarded by the Like Minds, Like Mine Program with support from the Mental Health Foundation of NZ.

You can find the series here, and also watch a trailer

Click here to listen to MMC's interview on Karyn Hay's Lately show.

Here's a breakdown of the themes for each episode:

1. 12 young people share what anxiety and depression physically feels like. Ingrid shares her story about experiencing a panic attack and hallucinations through an animation.

2. Two young men's experiences with mental distress. Alex, who is a part of the rainbow community, explores the stigma that surrounds men showing their emotions. Ethan discusses how living with social anxiety and depression means he doesn't fit into societal expectations around work and social gatherings.

3. Erin shares how she developed mental distress as a result of an abusive relationship. Her story is mostly animated and shares some learnings she has discovered going forward.

4. Indian migrant Swati shares her experiences with post-partum depression. Vashti, who is transitioning to a male gender, shares their experiences with mental distress and domestic abuse and how they'd like Aotearoa to change going forward.

5. Dan shares his experiences with schizophrenia and Isidora shares her experiences with depression, which resulted from her Dad divorcing her Mum and dating her Mum's best friend.

6. Bryan, who has Tongan heritage but grew up in Aotearoa, discusses feeling mental distress as a result of not belonging in either country.

7. All of the 12 interviewees share their call-to-actions for someone who might be experiencing mental distress, and what we can do to help.