Help Simon battle Severe Depression
Donation protected
Simon, who is now 31, has been fighting the effects of 'Bi-Polar Type 2' for most of his life, even including trying to take his own life. Lets keep him alive and out of hospital, get him into an area he can find himself again, and then help him to figure out a way forward.
It wasn't until he turned 27 that he started to realize that his condition was going to heavily impact his life, and he started asking for professional help.
Trying many different health professionals has caused him to spend 10-15% of his annual income on Mental Health for the last couple of years. It started with being thought to be a mixture of Anxiety/Depression, but has now been properly diagnosed by a Psychiatrist as 'Bi-Polar Type 2' (also referred to as BP2).
His family and friends have been trying to help as much as they can, and have managed to stop him doing some drastic actions.
So he has been putting in the effort and trying hard, but its not as easy as 'snapping out of it'.
Simon has always come across as an easy-going, happy, caring person who would often put himself before others. From the way he displays himself both in person and on social media he appears to be 'living the dream'.
Unfortunately this isn't the case and he isn't 'living the dream' He has suppressed a lot of the thoughts in his head, and to this day a lot of people wouldn't even realize or notice what goes on behind the scenes.
Even family and close friends couldn't tell when he was elevated or severely depressed most of the time. He would also remain very calm and avoid conflict, making it harder to notice. Sadly, pushing everything under the rug caused him to decline rapidly in health.
Simon was very successful at school, both academically and athletically. Most people thought he was good at everything, which was due to his fear of failure and only doing things he knew he was good at.
He was a bright child with a lot of potential, yet through life he has found living more difficult, and harder to see a meaning to life.
Over the last 4 years he has become bankrupt, has no car or assets, is now unemployed, and soon be unable to call a place 'home'. He needs to make drastic change in his life in order to keep living. He attempted to take his life via overdose the first time, and the local Alfred Psychiatric ward has been a temporary home multiple times now over the past few years, due to detailed thoughts of self harm.
He has put his close friends and previous relationships through a lot of stress and hard times, especially as he doesn't know how to love himself, yet alone properly love the others around him.
The world is a dark place to him when he is depressed, which lately has been rubbing off on those around him.
Depression is a real thing, that debilitates many people, and its the depression side of BP2 that is pushing Simon to the edge again.
So.... he needs to push the reset button, find himself, and start life again from scratch.
He is currently spending the winter in the Victorian Alpine area for 3 months, travelling around various huts and areas via ski-touring and snow-kiting to find some form of joy in his life again.
Snow is the biggest passion in his life, and snow has always been a driving force for him since he was young. Being in an environment that excites and challenges him, through the good and bad, will give him time to figure out what to do with his life.
Simon is commonly referred to as 'MacGyver', and can always make something work if it breaks, so if he needs to make something to get him out of danger he will hopefully be able too. And apparently this winter is going to be a record cold one here in Victoria.
As well as using GoFundMe as a way to help donate to the journey, he will appreciate gifts from people coming up, or to teach other people to snow kite (contact him via Facebook messenger for snow kite guiding or lessons).
Follow #simon3monthchallenge on Instagram (@bigmtnskierx) to watch images (and the periodic video) of the journey unfold, as well as periodic updates here and on simonsblog.kiwi
He will have data coverage and phone signal in most places he sets up camp, a PLB, and has talked in person to the local Falls Creek ski patrol and local SES manager with intentions upon leaving, prior to leaving.
Simon has already spent time with people that have have reached out to him for a chat over a coffee. He wants to share his story with other people he meets with similar issues, and find out their story and if he can he will help.
Simon has a very humble and proud exterior, and he struggles to ask to borrow or be given things. Doing this is a big step in overcoming a fear of failure, and also reaching out to others for support.
After he has found some more meaning in life he will return and choose a path that he knows is going to be more beneficial to his health.
Simon has hit rock bottom, so please give what you can and help Simon find a new direction in life and start to rebuild from scratch again.
Whether its $10, $50, $100, $500, buying and gifting certain items, or helping him back on his feet when he returns, he will appreciate anything, along with the appreciation of everyone that gets behind him.
He has been astounding skiers, Falls Creek staff, local cross-country skiers and ski-tourers with his story, upon meeting them on his journey.
Simon will also spend his time thinking of different ways to raise awareness to similar people who are struggling with mental illness, and he will come back and try to help others around him who are in a similar position.
Simon sold most of his ski-touring and backcountry gear when he moved to Australia, and most of the funds have been spent on the gear, medication, and food so far, so now any donations go towards getting Simon set up to restart life again.
So far Simon has been helped with and hooked up by 'Sea to Summit Distribution Australia', 'Bumps - Snow Surf Skate', 'Kite Republic', 'NWT3K', and the many supporters and donations so far.
If you are worried about Simon's well-being going on his journey he is now well prepared, and he is more than willing to open up and talk about his issues and explaining why he has chosen to do this.
People that dont know him well would think he is crazy, but his close friends understand why he needs to do this.
It wasn't until he turned 27 that he started to realize that his condition was going to heavily impact his life, and he started asking for professional help.
Trying many different health professionals has caused him to spend 10-15% of his annual income on Mental Health for the last couple of years. It started with being thought to be a mixture of Anxiety/Depression, but has now been properly diagnosed by a Psychiatrist as 'Bi-Polar Type 2' (also referred to as BP2).
His family and friends have been trying to help as much as they can, and have managed to stop him doing some drastic actions.
So he has been putting in the effort and trying hard, but its not as easy as 'snapping out of it'.
Simon has always come across as an easy-going, happy, caring person who would often put himself before others. From the way he displays himself both in person and on social media he appears to be 'living the dream'.
Unfortunately this isn't the case and he isn't 'living the dream' He has suppressed a lot of the thoughts in his head, and to this day a lot of people wouldn't even realize or notice what goes on behind the scenes.
Even family and close friends couldn't tell when he was elevated or severely depressed most of the time. He would also remain very calm and avoid conflict, making it harder to notice. Sadly, pushing everything under the rug caused him to decline rapidly in health.
Simon was very successful at school, both academically and athletically. Most people thought he was good at everything, which was due to his fear of failure and only doing things he knew he was good at.
He was a bright child with a lot of potential, yet through life he has found living more difficult, and harder to see a meaning to life.
Over the last 4 years he has become bankrupt, has no car or assets, is now unemployed, and soon be unable to call a place 'home'. He needs to make drastic change in his life in order to keep living. He attempted to take his life via overdose the first time, and the local Alfred Psychiatric ward has been a temporary home multiple times now over the past few years, due to detailed thoughts of self harm.
He has put his close friends and previous relationships through a lot of stress and hard times, especially as he doesn't know how to love himself, yet alone properly love the others around him.
The world is a dark place to him when he is depressed, which lately has been rubbing off on those around him.
Depression is a real thing, that debilitates many people, and its the depression side of BP2 that is pushing Simon to the edge again.
So.... he needs to push the reset button, find himself, and start life again from scratch.
He is currently spending the winter in the Victorian Alpine area for 3 months, travelling around various huts and areas via ski-touring and snow-kiting to find some form of joy in his life again.
Snow is the biggest passion in his life, and snow has always been a driving force for him since he was young. Being in an environment that excites and challenges him, through the good and bad, will give him time to figure out what to do with his life.
Simon is commonly referred to as 'MacGyver', and can always make something work if it breaks, so if he needs to make something to get him out of danger he will hopefully be able too. And apparently this winter is going to be a record cold one here in Victoria.
As well as using GoFundMe as a way to help donate to the journey, he will appreciate gifts from people coming up, or to teach other people to snow kite (contact him via Facebook messenger for snow kite guiding or lessons).
Follow #simon3monthchallenge on Instagram (@bigmtnskierx) to watch images (and the periodic video) of the journey unfold, as well as periodic updates here and on simonsblog.kiwi
He will have data coverage and phone signal in most places he sets up camp, a PLB, and has talked in person to the local Falls Creek ski patrol and local SES manager with intentions upon leaving, prior to leaving.
Simon has already spent time with people that have have reached out to him for a chat over a coffee. He wants to share his story with other people he meets with similar issues, and find out their story and if he can he will help.
Simon has a very humble and proud exterior, and he struggles to ask to borrow or be given things. Doing this is a big step in overcoming a fear of failure, and also reaching out to others for support.
After he has found some more meaning in life he will return and choose a path that he knows is going to be more beneficial to his health.
Simon has hit rock bottom, so please give what you can and help Simon find a new direction in life and start to rebuild from scratch again.
Whether its $10, $50, $100, $500, buying and gifting certain items, or helping him back on his feet when he returns, he will appreciate anything, along with the appreciation of everyone that gets behind him.
He has been astounding skiers, Falls Creek staff, local cross-country skiers and ski-tourers with his story, upon meeting them on his journey.
Simon will also spend his time thinking of different ways to raise awareness to similar people who are struggling with mental illness, and he will come back and try to help others around him who are in a similar position.
Simon sold most of his ski-touring and backcountry gear when he moved to Australia, and most of the funds have been spent on the gear, medication, and food so far, so now any donations go towards getting Simon set up to restart life again.
So far Simon has been helped with and hooked up by 'Sea to Summit Distribution Australia', 'Bumps - Snow Surf Skate', 'Kite Republic', 'NWT3K', and the many supporters and donations so far.
If you are worried about Simon's well-being going on his journey he is now well prepared, and he is more than willing to open up and talk about his issues and explaining why he has chosen to do this.
People that dont know him well would think he is crazy, but his close friends understand why he needs to do this.
Organizer
Simon Evans
Organizer
St Kilda VIC
