Our lost youth: Darren Barrett opens up about mental health battles

It was early in 2019 when Darren Barrett found himself at a crossroads.

At the time, he was running his own business - Barrett Automotive - which came with all the stresses that one could imagine.

"It was pretty full-on, I was never home and it was probably a bit unfair on the wife and kids," he said.

A decision needed to be made, not just for what was best for his family or employees, but for his own mental health.

"I had to make some pretty hard choices. It came right down to making sure the people working for me could find jobs and making sure my own family came out of it alright. There was a fair bit involved in it," he added.

Mr Barrett would end up closing the business entirely. It was one of the hardest decisions he ever had to make.

"I figured that with the hours I put into the business, what I was pulling out of it just wasn't cutting it for me," he said.

"It was better for my family, it's given me more time at home and it relieved a bit of the pressure in terms of managing people."

In the three years since, businesses like the one he used to run have had to deal with enormous amounts of strain.

From Covid to flooding, the Central West has been no stranger to a "once-in-a-lifetime" disaster.

"I feel bad for the people who are still in it," he added.

"I feel like, in a way, I took the easy way out, but in the same token it took a fair bit of determination to work out how to go about it and walk away from something that I'd put so much into."

Having dealt with his own mental health issues, Mr Barrett is now better at identifying when others are struggling.

"You jump into some of these other jobs and some of the guys that I work with, you see a couple of them, especially the young blokes, start to struggle here or there," he said.

"Then later on, we get to a point where people we know are either in a bit of a bind and not seeing a way out, or actually losing the battle (with suicide) full stop."

As a result of the struggles he has not only gone through, but seen others go through, he decided to take part in a mental health seminar called 'Beyond the Bullshit' which has been organised by his long-time friend Jamie Stedman.

"I wanted to learn as much as I could because it's not a one-size-fits-all issue," he said.

"There's still a reasonable amount of stress in what I do. There's some days that can be full on and hectic, but over time you learn what works for you."

The next session is being held on November 6. Tickets are $15 per session with finger food provided and tickets can be purchased from The Agrestic Grocer website.

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