Kane’s story: The power of the outdoors
For years, Kane Ford put on a game face, not listening to the early indicator signs that something wasn’t right. His anxiety got so bad that he took himself to hospital, thinking he was having a heart attack. It wasn’t until he found the power of the outdoors and being in nature that he started to address his mental health issues.
“I guess it all started growing up in the country, being a young gay kid where you feel like you're the only gay person in the world. It was super isolating,” Kane shared that these issues continued as an adult when he moved to Melbourne and started working a stressful job in the finance industry, "I used to keep things very close to my chest. No one knew what was going on underneath the surface. My partner, who I had been with for 12 years, had no idea that I was experiencing any of these symptoms of anxiety and pressure.”
" One day I told my partner that I'm driving out to one of my favourite hiking spots and I was driving there with a view that I didn't think that I would come back. "
“When I got out there and I started to hike, I was crying the whole time, but I ended up finishing one of the loops, and thankfully I came back,” said Kane, “It was a moment in my life that just changed everything. It was where I realised the power of the outdoors and the power of hiking, what it can do for people, what it did for me.”
From that experience, Kane began to turn things around. He knew he needed to talk to someone and reached out for professional mental health support. “It was really challenging to start to talking and be comfortable with opening up that box of emotions. But it’s like training, it's like riding a bike. You get used to doing it.”
Kane took his love of the outdoors and hiking to another level, starting his own hiking tour business in 2019, Get Outside Australia. His tours are all about giving people the opportunity to experience nature, to take a breath from the stresses of everyday life and help them to find a more balanced lifestyle.
“I'm four years on, I have come so far, and still my mental health and anxiety can flare up for any number of reasons. And what I've become a lot better at is understanding not to wait until it's at a crisis point to talk to someone. When I start to feel those early indicators, that's when it's time to have a chat,” said Kane.
Today, Kane is a Movember Community Ambassador, sharing his story with the community and advocating for men’s mental health, “My advice is to talk to someone, before you do something that you can't take back. It's really tough saying those first couple of words, that you are not okay. But I've never felt more supported in my life now through sharing that sort of stuff and sharing some of the most vulnerable parts of myself.”
If you are feeling low or overwhelmed, or this story has brought up strong feelings, please consider reaching out for support using these support links. Or if someone you care about seems to be going through a tough time, use these simple steps to help open and guide the conversation.