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What happens when the job you once loved starts to take over your life? When the stories we tell about masculinity don’t match the reality for many men? And when suicide prevention strategies finally make space for those who’ve lived it?
In this week’s wrap, I’m looking at three stories that reveal the deeper layers of our mental health conversations.
When passion turns into burnout
I’ve always believed that if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. But the truth is, when you love your job, you might end up working every day of your life. I see it in myself, reading, learning, and developing outside of work hours, and I know how easy it is for that passion to blur into burnout.
An episode of This Working Life explored this very idea: that the more we love our work, the more at risk we are of overworking, never switching off, and losing balance. It’s why I’ve started carving out time for hobbies like art and dance that have nothing to do with my profession.
Rethinking masculinity
SBS’s Insight featured powerful conversations about how men see themselves and each other. The discussion touched on male role models (or the lack of them), cultural expectations, and the pressures to either conform or step away from traditional gender norms.
Healthy masculinity isn’t about fitting one mould, it’s about creating space for vulnerability, support, and real connection between men.
Lived experience at the centre of suicide prevention
The new National Suicide Prevention Strategy calls for meaningful inclusion of people with lived experience. This isn’t about ticking a box, it’s about valuing their expertise, ensuring they’re supported, and making sure their voices shape policy in ways that actually help.
A lighter note
And yes, Wednesday Addams is back. Her parents’ unwavering acceptance of her quirks is a reminder of the power of unconditional love, something we could all use more of.
If there’s a story you’d like me to unpack in more detail, get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.
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When Dream Jobs Fade, Men Redefine Masculinity, and Lived Experience Leads Suicide Prevention
[00:00:00] Marie Vakakis: From chasing dream jobs to rethinking masculinity and having a look at suicide prevention
[00:00:05] Marie Vakakis: this week’s news asks us to question. What we value, how we connect, and who gets a seat at the table when changes on the line.
[00:00:14] Marie Vakakis: Is your dream job still dreamy? This was an episode on the A B, C podcast, this working life, and it really caught my attention because I’m one of those people who love what I do for work, and I always had that belief, like many others, that if you do what you love for work, you never work a day in your life and as it turns out, it means you end up working almost every day of your life.
[00:00:36] Marie Vakakis: Every book I read is related to my work, every professional development, everything I’m learning. I spend tens of hours outside of business hours doing what I love. And this podcast, hit a nerve for me because it really highlighted that if you love what you do and you can get into that zone, especially on weekends, it can leave you feeling burnt out.
[00:00:57] Marie Vakakis: And so people who love their jobs [00:01:00] are at a higher risk of burnout, which is interesting because I would’ve thought that having no purpose, no interest in your work would’ve led to sort of symptoms of depression and disengagement. And I think that still might be true. And there’s some really good research that that talks about that
[00:01:15] Marie Vakakis: in the book, lost Connections, and I’ll do a book review about that very soon. This episode was talking about whether passion, leads to fulfillment.
[00:01:22] Marie Vakakis: And what we can do about it. So if you’re working all weekend, like I sometimes tend to do, does that then put me in a burnout position? Does that make me more tired when I show up the next day? Does it mean I never get to switch off? And then there’s the entrepreneurial side that if you are. Anywhere, anything like me, you think, oh, well maybe I could turn what I love into a business and I can turn this.
[00:01:39] Marie Vakakis: And so sometimes the thing you love most if you start to monetise that can be less fulfilling. So it was definitely one that had me thinking and reflecting about myself, and I was really glad that I’ve started taking up some art classes and some dance classes to try and combat work taking over my entire life.
[00:01:56] Marie Vakakis: Do men need a male liberation? There was a really [00:02:00] fantastic episode of Insight on SBS that talked about men’s mental health, men’s ideas of masculinity. And it looked at how men act towards each other, the expectations placed on modern man and how they vary from culture to culture, person to person, and how different men experience those and the pressures that they feel to either conform or how difficult it is to step away from that.
[00:02:22] Marie Vakakis: And it really talked about the importance of good role models, both male and female, that a lot of men don’t have strong female role models and may not have good quality male role models either. And in this episode, there was a real call for men to reflect on their power in relationships, to reflect on gendered expectations, even around sexuality, because not all men are heterosexual and thinking about how they support each other, how men show up for their mates, and what behaviour they allow to pass or what they police or don’t in other men.
[00:02:56] Marie Vakakis: Both good and bad things that they allowed to happen that they [00:03:00] maybe should step up with and things that they might tease or mock that may not be worth doing. Anyway, really great episode. I’ll pop a link to that in the notes. It’s really worth a watch,
[00:03:11] Marie Vakakis: and last month I should probably a little longer than that, the Mental Health Commission published its National Suicide Prevention Strategy. For the next 10 years, which emphasises the inclusion of people with a lived experience in its prevention efforts. Now it’s got lots and lots of recommendations and you can follow that up.
[00:03:28] Marie Vakakis: I’ll pop a link for that. For you as well. But there was an A, B, C article that talked about lived experience being a valuable contribution to this strategy and I really wanted to talk about that. In mental health, we sometimes undervalue or under-resourced people with a lived experience and it needs to be included.
[00:03:45] Marie Vakakis: I think it’s a really important role where people who’ve lived through. Suicide in this case who’ve had non-fatal suicide attempts or who have engaged in mental health services are really well placed to know what works, what doesn’t work, and share their experience not [00:04:00] as a, tick box exercise, but add meaningful contribution and provide them with the right support so they are not further traumatised or activated or triggered, and that they have got the support around them to perform that job really well and be a valuable contribution.
[00:04:16] Marie Vakakis: And on a lighter note, Wednesday Addams is back. And if you’re. I’ve loved season one. Season two is also great, but I absolutely love this. And what I love about this character is how her parents adore her for who she’s, how her dad loves her quirky, unusual hobbies, interests, is so fond of her,
[00:04:34] Marie Vakakis: behind those interests doesn’t judge her for them. And I think that’s really beautiful and something we need a little bit more of in our world. So if you haven’t watched season one, check it out. It’s really great. A lot of nostalgia and some really good fun, quirky
[00:04:47] Marie Vakakis: some really great scripting, some really great cast. I really enjoyed it.
[00:04:51] Marie Vakakis: And that’s it for the weekly wrap. If there’s something you want to learn more about, let me know. I’d like to do maybe a full episode on it and if you’ve got a story that I haven’t covered or something that you [00:05:00] want to know, , learn a little bit more about, get in touch. Thanks for now. Bye.
