Thread by @FreedomFriesInc

(1) NZ had just achieved it's largest Olympic medal haul in history. 20 from a country of 5 million people.

All our athletes, and the country were on a high.

Then 2 days ago 24 year old Olivia Podmore died by suicide.

au.sports.yahoo.com/olympics-2021-…

(2) I need to write a short Twitter thread so that some key messages get seen.

I have both professional & personal experience of trying to deal with suicide prevention & "postvention" in NZ.

We *can* learn some common signs of suicidal risk.

healthnavigator.org.nz/health-a-z/s/s…

(3) After decades of research around the world, the potential reasons why some people suicide are not a mystery.

We need to think about our loved ones, family, friends & others to see if they might be at risk. Then take action.*

(4) I placed an asterisk after "take action" because I do not mean going in all guns blazing, unless the risk is imminent and it's time to call emergency services.

This is why I talk about skills. We can learn skills to reduce harm around us from suicide & other causes.

(5) I will take extreme care about how I say what I am about to say.

Olivia's friend & the wonderful man who is an Olympian & household name in NZ, Eric Murray, is the family's spokesman. He had seen her the day before she died.

Source: nzherald.co.nz/sport/olympic-…

(6) I believe Olivia likely did seem well, to those around her. I know this bc I've been in Eric Murray's shoes, more than once.

There are various reasons for this phenomenon & I think we need to learn about them so we can help others more.

Survivors feel guilt, I know I did.

(7) Those left behind after a suicide often ask themselves if we could or should have done more to help the person.

Very often, we can't. And very often we already were doing everything we could think of. The reasons people suicide are complex & can be hard to spot.

(8) Olivia had posted on Instagram. The post was later removed, I'm not sure when or by whom. Doesn't matter.

Here is part (or all) of her post. I don't agree with sharing a suicide note but this was a social media post, which is different. We don't know how she felt, or when.

(9) When a person is thinking about carrying out suicide, their plans can change back & forth quickly. So it's possible when she posted she wasn't imminently planning to do this. The post is like many from her generation. Talking about it doesn't necessarily mean doing it.

(10) Olivia wrote of "the feeling when you":

- lose
- when you don’t get selected even when you qualify
- when you're injured, and
- when you don’t meet society’s expectations such a owning a house, marriage, kids all because you're trying to give everything to your sport

(10) These are all things I have experienced in my career, because I expect high standards of myself.

"Meeting society's expectations" is something that most people my age (50ish) no longer care about. How I wish our younger people would reach that point sooner than we did.

(11) For an elite athlete, injury is a major stressor that can take a person down to a very deep, dark place.

The field of Sports Psychology is taught in universities around the world, and it is well placed to assist an athlete with this specific issue.

Other issues...

(12) IMO the other issues in Olivia's post are not specific to elite sportsmanship.

Psychologists or therapists can help. Reportedly she had sought help. We don't know any details about that.

IMO professional therapy is necessary but not sufficient.

(13) I often post this Russell Brand quote. I am not alleging anything at all in relation to the sudden and extremely painful loss of Olivia.

This quote touches on a range of things that can lead to mental health issues in adulthood.

(14) I've written about a number of sudden deaths among public figures, from suicide or other causes. You can find links to several of those cases in this short thread:

https://twitter.com/FreedomFriesInc/status/1378561413833056256

(15) Suicide can affect anyone, from the heights of stardom or power, to kids still in high school.

When it's a person who is a public figure, then we have greater access to information about their life and their death than we do for people we know in our own town.

(16) That's why I try to make lemonade from lemons, by raising awareness, offering support, and paying my respects to the person we lost.

RIP, Olivia Rose Podmore.

(24 May 1997 – 9 August 2021)