John Payne
Non Fiction; Stress; PTSD
John is a veteran who served the Victorian community within Corrections, Government Investigations, and as a Volunteer Firefighter. During a career spanning nearly 3 decades, he worked on many incidents, including the Black Saturday bushfire of February 2009 for which he was honoured with the National Emergency Medal.
As a direct result of his service, he was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a condition he has lived with since 2009.
John wrote 'What My Eyes Have Seen', to share his lived experiences with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and is passionate about advocating for mental health and suicide awareness to the greater community and encourage people to get help.
John hopes his story will help reduce the stigma associated with mental health and increase the understanding of mental health conditions like depression, anxiety and PTSD for first responders, correctional officers, their colleagues, family, and friends.
John’s key messages are: ‘Reach out early – you will be supported and don’t suffer in silence.’ Encouraging early help-seeking is a crucial priority in any effective workplace mental health strategy.
John is also involved with the following organisations:
- Lived Experience Peer Ambassador
- Beyondblue Speaker
- Founder ‘Talk ‘it’ to Zero’
- Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association
John is available for speaking engagements for all first responder organisations, corporations, businesses, associations, conferences, universities and community events for both government and private sectors.
To inquire into John’s availability or to make a booking, John can be contacted through: -
Mobile 0412 261 356 or
jaypay3@bigpond.com.
