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‘Most of the women I see have this desire to be the perfect mother which is one of the drivers for them getting depressed and anxious. I’m a Professor of Psychiatry specialising in women’s mental health – in particular perinatal mental health. We now have screening for post-natal depression but now we need to help the child and help her parent the child so the inter-generational transmission isn’t happening.

‘The primary carer, which is quite often the mother, is the prototype for every future relationship that this child is going to have. This is where you learn trust and where you learn how to interact. If someone is depressed or so withdrawn because they’ve got psychotic illness, then it makes it really hard.

‘Unfortunately these days we’re trying to be so many things and the result for some people sadly is that they’re not doing any of them well. Guilt keeps coming up again and again – that’s a recurring theme.

‘The reality is kids will suckle the good stuff – anything you’re able to give them. Basically you’ve only got to get it right 30% of the time, try to get it right another 30% and the rest of the time, well the kids will cope!

‘Be bigger, stronger wiser and kind no matter how little you know about parenting – you know more than your child. If you don’t know it, you can find out – ask someone about it.’

For help, visit www.beyondblue.org.au.

humansofnewtown; humans of newtown

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‘I spent 3½ years photo-documenting enslaved prostitutes in Cambodia – Vietnamese women who were trafficked across the border.

‘These women were being raped repeatedly. One of the women’s wrists was covered in suicide marks and she was one of the women who knew what she was going in to. The state of mind, the cultural beliefs that are engrained in to these women or young girls, I can’t grasp it. It was a big hurdle for me to get over and I realised I can’t; it’s not a hurdle for me to jump.

‘I was back in Sydney and got an email from the NGO I’d been working with over there saying the raid had been performed and the women had been rescued as a result of my work. Up until that point, I had very little faith in what was happening from the NGO point of view. I got the impression that they were only investigating the shacks (brothels) while I was over there. Unfortunately it took a 9 year old child’s presence in that brothel to perform the rescue. Human trafficking is illegal and the police knew there were women in there that had been trafficked. I asked them what it took to perform a raid and the Cambodian police said to me they had a thousand other brothels like this one, why should they choose this one?

‘This whole experience has definitely challenged me. I had to see two psychiatrists while I was away. It centred me a lot as a person but it’s made me sad. I’ll never forget those women – especially the first girl I photographed – she was crying and curled up in a foetal position.

‘I feel proud now about what I’ve done – knowing that the 9 year old girl is now being educated and the NGO will give her a job when she finishes school as they will with the other women that were rescued in the raid. It’s a breaking of the chain. When the girl grows up, her children will then know they can get an education and get a job.

‘One of my favourite quotes is, “Every waterfall starts with a drop of water”. If I can help someone or inspire someone to do what I did or help in some way, I know I’ve succeeded.’

http://anywherebuthere.photography/

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‘My baby boy was born profoundly deaf and received cochlear implants in both ears at just five months of age and has been at The Shepherd Centre in their early intervention program. The first day we found out he was deaf was the hardest. It was a lot of mixed emotions and it was very confusing for all of us.

‘Naturally we were worried at first. I think every parent would be worried about their child in any situation whether it’s deafness or something else because it’s just the fact that you don’t know. But all you can do is focus on what you can do now.

‘Today we just completed a 4,500km journey aboard a 1979 double-decker bus from Perth to Newtown at a top speed of 63 km/h as a way to say thank you and raise money for The Shepherd Centre. We decided to dress up just to make a statement and have a bit of fun with it.

‘We couldn’t be any happier with his progress. We’re over the moon with how it’s panned out so far. He is a very happy, bubbly and vibrant baby. He is seriously the sparkle of my eye – I love him to death.’

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‘I was really kind of out there in primary school. I was a really happy child – always dancing. And then I got to high school and everything was different. I didn’t fit in well there. My teachers didn’t like me and just overcoming that was a huge challenge. After I left, I had to relearn how to be happy and get my confidence again. I’m now studying design at Enmore TAFE which has really helped me with that. My first year there was the best year of my life just learning what I want to learn.

‘I wouldn’t change any of it though because that’s when I went in to myself and really looked at who I was and figured it out. It’s how I got good at art because I was in my room painting all the time and drawing in class.

‘In my last year of high school, my teachers put me in the lowest class – like ESL kind of reading level. They told me it was because of my last name. They said that they assumed I wasn’t from here so they put me in ESL. They told me that they thought I was a refugee but I was born here. I don’t speak any other language. The teacher was just smiling when he said it to me. I started crying. For a whole year I was in this low level thing. Before that I’d been put in classes that were meant to be for year 12 because that’s the level I’m at but when I moved to this new school they didn’t believe me. They didn’t test me or anything.

‘But I’ve come through it all and proved them wrong. That’s what you’ve got to do, you‘ve got to prove them wrong.’

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‘I worked as a lollipop lady at a pedestrian crossing in Erskineville for 13 years. I had a heart operation recently so I thought it was probably time to retire – and I was getting old enough and tired enough! I’m 79 so I thought it was about time to resign.

‘I’ve lived in Newtown for 39 years. I don’t know where to start to tell you how much it’s changed! It’s hard to explain. It was a much quieter place but now it’s become very, very busy with restaurants and things like that. It’s a different life altogether – but it’s better. I like the variety of today. Before it was quieter. There were no markets or anything like that. People got home by 5 or 6 o’clock – there wasn’t much happening. It’s a bit scary to walk at night sometimes now though. Well in those days I had a man in my life but now I’m on my own so I don’t go out at night time except if I go with friends. Otherwise it’s out of the question.’