Mr Perfect's men's mental health barbeque based on belief social connections help mental health

In another effort to address concerns about men's mental health in the region, the town is to host a gathering overseen by Mr Perfect, a grassroots charity which brings men together at local parks across Australia.

Established in 2016, Mr Perfect and its barbeque initiative stemmed from the experiences of its CEO, Terry Cornick.

"It was started because of my own observations when I went to access mental health help," Mr Cornick said.

"I found it a very cold process. I wasn't communicated to or educated how to go about it. I felt like I just went along with the flow.

"What I found was nothing was mentioned about how many times I caught up with friends or how many times I had serious discussions with my family or anything that was holistic outside the clinical realm.

"My friends and I realised we got the best buzz kicking a football around. Meeting up for a couple of hours and having a chat afterwards morphed into what the barbeques are now."

Struggles with mental health have been a feature of Mr Cornick's life across his 37 years.

"I knew from an early age something was different," he said.

"I was very introverted; I was highly sensitive; I couldn't communicate my feelings very well."

Ultimately, Mr Cornick was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder. On a number of occasions, he was suicidal.

Mr Cornick attributes his mental health issues to multiple factors.

"For me it's a bit of both, nature and nurture," he said.

"There are things which happened biologically; I was always going to be little bit like this. There are things, events in my life, which were tragic, which caused trauma."

Fortunately, Mr Cornick opened up about his challenges and sought assistance. Revealing his inner turmoil was a monumental first step.

"The weight off my shoulders was huge and also I didn't get any negative feedback from it," Mr Cornick said.

"Everyone was like, 'This is amazing!'"

Through seeking help, Mr Cornick has been able to grow, although he knows he has to be prepared for any psychological twists and turns.

"I'm in a pretty good spot now, but it changes," Mr Cornick said.

"You have to have a toolbox of many things, whether it be a social thing you do, your diet, or clinical aspects.

"It's not going to go away. This is me. The key learning is the management of those things; it's not trying to 'cure' them. I have to be more accountable when I can feel these symptoms of my conditions coming on.

"It's like you're getting on a train. You think you can't get off, but there are stops you can get off. You can choose to get off that train."

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Mr Cornick believes there is much to be said for males coming together in an outdoor setting.

""There's nothing better than being face-to-face at one of our barbeques," Mr Cornick said.

"The barbeque is a very easy way for people to not feel they're enclosed in a one-on-one situation

"They feel comfortable to discuss, listen, have fun, have a laugh. Sometimes, mental health is discussed, but generally, we just let that happen naturally. People normally go away thinking, 'Wow! That's given me a bit of hope'.

"The main thing we are trying to create is community and connection. That goes in hand with promoting good mental health, particularly for men."

The barbeque is open to all, but Mr Cornick is of the belief certain types in particular will benefit.

"We've noted the sweet spot is probably 30, 35 upwards to about 60 or retirement age," he said.

"Even if things are going well, you start to try to question your worth in the world. You've got a number of things you have to juggle at that age. Maybe a mortgage, maybe kids, maybe family, your own health, keeping a job, trying to be what we assume a man is to be in the world. There's a lot of pressure which goes uncommunicated."

The backing of insurance firm, Zurich Financial Services , has allowed Mr Perfect to continue its mission.

"We're very lucky, after scraping the barrel for a long time to provide the costs to run the barbeque, all the insurance and admin that goes in the background, we got the support of Zurich," Mr Cornick said.

"They've been absolutely fantastic for us."

Zurich is committed to improving accessibility of mental wellbeing programs in the community, according to Linda Griffin, Zurich Australia's Head of Brand, Marketing and Corporate Affairs.

"Now is the time for the public and private sector to mobilise to promote positive mental wellbeing across society," Ms Griffin said.

"New research into Australia's mental health emergency shows prevention and early intervention represent our best tools for supporting mental wellbeing.

"It's our hope, through participation in community programs like Mr Perfect, fewer Australians will reach a point of crisis in their mental health.

"We are inspired by people like Terry Cornick for the work they do to lift up their communities and fellow Australians."

Mr Cornick is dedicated to continuing to help others, although others have to be willing to help themselves as well.

"You've got to do the work to get to the bottom of it," Mr Cornick said.

"Everything's a work in progress all the time, focusing on what you can do today to move forward rather than going back over everything that happened."

Mr Perfect's men's mental health BBQ, Sunday November 7 10.30am at the Steve Moneghetti Track Lake Wendouree Adventure Playground. Involvement is free. For further information, contact BBQ host, Justin Thompson, on 0418 392 056.

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