SHEDDING LIGHT ON MENTAL HEALTH

A passionate Mental Health Advocate, Sue shares her lived experience to help raise awareness, reduce stigma and provide positive solutions and practices for mental health management. She has been giving regular presentations for Beyond Blue at corporate and community events since 2015.

Overwhelmed by workplace stress, family bereavements and the suicide of a colleague, Sue Tredget faced her own mental health crisis in 2013.

As she recovered, Sue began speaking and writing about her experiences and realised her story had the power to make a difference.

She is the author of Changing Lightbulbs: A Journey Through Anxiety and Depression, Transformation: a collection of poems to heal the spirit, and the children’s picture book series, My Colour Collection.

In 2019 Sue was selected to address the new recruits at the Beyond Blue WA Training Day and SCA Partnership lunch to model speaking and presentation skills. 

In 2020 she was one of two Speakers asked to write an open letter to the Beyond Blue Board, describing her mental health journey. This led to her becoming part of the 2021 campaign to raise much needed funds for the Beyond Blue helpline which has seen a huge increase in demand since the pandemic struck.

Here is some of the feedback Sue has received from her speaking engagements:

You present with warmth and passion and create a vivid picture of your experience.

It was an absolute pleasure to hear your story. You spoke so clearly, added anecdotes seamlessly and are highly engaging.

Love how positive she was.

Loved how she planted the seed with a couple of things and came back to it later … kept me really engaged and wanting to know more.

I liked ‘my breakdown was my breakthrough’ – this really resonated with me and my own experience.

Loved the analogy of physical health compared to mental health.

What I took away was the hope and recovery.

Very relatable and approachable.

 

To make an enquiry or book Sue for a speaking event email info@suetredget.com or use the contact form on this website.

Testimonials

February 2019

We were lucky enough to have Sue Tredget as the guest speaker at our workplace information session about mental health. Having the opportunity to hear Sue’s story was an absolute privilege. She was warm, knowledgeable, informative, captivating and hilarious.

Sue shed light on a serious topic in an entertaining way, without causing any distress amongst audience members. With her honesty and openness Sue was able to remove some of the stigma surrounding mental health. We received such positive feedback and would highly recommend Sue to anyone looking for a speaker in the future.

Olivia Saunders | Human Resources Officer | Cancer Council WA

Sue was excellent. I have had numerous people say how much they enjoyed her presentation. She was perfect for the type of talk I was hoping for and the sharing of her story generated a lot of questions which was great.

Jonathan Miles | City of Wanneroo | October 2018

We recently had an all women’s meeting at our local tennis club. After being introduced to Sue and reading her book “Changing Lightbulbs” I was very keen to have her share her story.

The tennis analogies Sue used were very apt. She took us on a very personal and brave journey, describing her struggle with both anxiety and depression, and her recovery, using humour to lighten what is a very heavy and challenging message.

The room consisted of ladies in their early 30s to their 80s, each of whom were touched by Sue’s genuine desire to share her story to help others. The questions asked afterwards were testament to how engaging Sue’s message was to this group of women. Especially Sue’s practical suggestions about what to do as a friend if we want to help someone who is currently on the same path.

Thanks for being so brave Sue – many will be blessed by knowing it is OK to talk and share how they are feeling. 

Colette Nalder, 20 February 2018

Outstanding presentation and very relevant. Such an eye opening and meaningful talk that captivated our staff and gave them an insight into mental illness in terms of how it can occur and the steps that can be taken to make a full recovery.

Sue speaks with great clarity …  Her personal journey has helped our staff to understand the associated signs and symptoms, along with the strategies that can help an individual enhance their mental health. 

Sue was amazing. It was a privilege to listen to her presentation and I highly recommend other schools to utilise her expertise.

Paul Johnston, Health and Well-Being project manager, Baldivis Secondary College

It was an absolute pleasure to have Sue speak at Fremantle Ports; we are very grateful. I’ve received really positive feedback and a gentleman even mentioned afterwards that it hit home for him, making him a little teary.

It was nice to have someone passionate about mental health share their own story. Sometimes people don’t know what to look out for, what could trigger a mental illness or are afraid to say/do anything when they see someone struggling. It’s easier to take a step back when that’s the time that the individual suffering may need you the most…

Sue clearly detailed Beyond Blue’s stance in the mental health sector… she  made everyone in the room aware of the importance of talking about your feelings, and not feeling ashamed.

Caitlin Harding, Fremantle Ports

Mental Health is such an important topic in today’s working environment. It was such a pleasure to have Sue attend our first ever diversity and inclusion week in September 2017 and speak to our staff about beyondblue and the services that this organisation offers to support those battling with mental health issues.

She stressed the importance of self-awareness and not being afraid to ask for help. Sue also shared her own experience which was invaluable to the staff and made for a very interactive session. She was friendly and approachable and the session received extremely good feedback. Thank you Sue!

Surekha Gomez, Associate Director, JLL

Sue came to speak about her journey through anxiety and depression at our annual conference in September 2016. A lot of our delegates went to talk to Sue after the presentation, as she was very approachable and really humanized the feelings… we were grateful for her time and her willingness to share her story with so many people.

It really resonated with our delegates and reminded them of why they do the work they do. Sue was very personable. With humour and a clear flow her words hit home really well.

Natasha, Red Cross Delegate

Once again, thank you so very much for visiting with us at Bankwest and also for sharing such a personal story. I have had so much feedback from colleagues who were inspired by your strength and courage to share your story.

The content of your talk was very fit for purpose and has given all the colleagues who attended a great insight and awareness into Anxiety and Depression. As a department, we look forward to being able to share you with other teams.

Penny Jones, Bank West

A big thank you, for taking time out for us today. From the conversations with my colleagues everyone was moved by your talk and have taken something away with them.

Dianne Harvey, Bank West

Sue spoke very confidently and with empathy and understanding for her audience… very good analogy and experiences presented.

Louise Hancock, Rotary Club President, Osborne Park

Sue is proud to support beyondblue as a Speaker/Ambassador, sharing her story to increase awareness and understanding of anxiety and depression in Australia and to reduce the associated stigma.

The beyondblue vision is for all people in Australia to achieve their best possible mental health. You can learn more about anxiety and depression and suicide prevention by visiting the beyondblue website or contacting the Support Service on 1300 224 636.