This is the analogy behind Shepherds Australia’s baton motorbike ride, which raises awareness and funds to help people living with post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Co-founder Dean Marks, who has lived with the debilitating disorder, said the ride started after becoming frustrated with the community’s silence and wanting a way to encourage people to speak up before it was too late.

“We knew a lot of people with PTSD and people who unfortunately had taken their own lives and nobody was talking about it,” Mr Marks said. 

“We just kept hearing about it again and again, that somebody else was now gone and we decided enough was enough.”

He said sometimes it was easier to approach someone who had lived through the experience first rather than a person with a certificate.

While the event involves a core group of riders, other riders are welcome to join the group during any leg of the journey or meet at the designated stops.

“One of the things we found last year is we had people come out of the woodwork, who had never spoken about (their PTSD) before,” Mr Marks said. 

“They came and sat down and talked to us, and we were able to give them some resources.”

All money raised is donated to Whiskey's Wish, a self-funded group which trains and provides assistance dogs for returned service personnel with PTSD.

The second Shepherds Australia PTSD Awareness Baton Ride starts on February 17 and this year will be travelling through New South Wales and the ACT in addition to Victoria.

The riders will arrive in Ballarat on Thursday, February 22.

For more information or to view the itinerary visit www.shepherdsaustralia.org/ptsd.

If you are in crisis or distress, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.