Serena O'Callaghan, 36, from Sydney, NSW, is participating in The Push-Up Challenge for the fifth time in 2024. After tragically losing a close friend to suicide during the pandemic and then losing her beloved dad to suicide in 2022, she has become an active mental health advocate.
Serena has experienced mental health challenges herself and now works as a lived experience leader in the mental health space. She shares with us the tools she uses to maintain her mental health, including the many benefits she has experienced doing The Push-Up Challenge.
This will be your fifth year taking part in The Push Up Challenge – congrats! Why did you first decide to join the Challenge?
Yeah, that's right. The first year was during COVID. I was out on a farm in regional NSW, and I talked my two little brothers and my dad, who were in Sydney, into doing it together. That's why I love the Challenge. It's such a connective thing to do. That aspect of health by stealth is genuinely infectious.
Do you have a personal connection to the mental health cause?
The first time I did The Push-Up Challenge, it felt significant because I had friends who had died by suicide. So, it was in remembrance of them.
I lost a dear friend to suicide during the Melbourne lockdowns. It was a really close girlfriend. We had this beautiful way of being authentic and honest with each other. We both battled living with mental health conditions. We would connect seamlessly in the light and shade, the hilarity, and the sorrow.
When my friend slipped away, I had this visceral reaction. I was on bereavement leave for a month; I couldn't sleep. It completely crushed my heart. I could no longer stay away; I had to try and contribute to fixing the mental healthcare system. The system failed my friend.
And then, at the start of 2022, I lost my dear dad to suicide. He was my best friend. I was already working in the mental health sphere, and that cemented my commitment. In the depths of grief, I started the Hope Floats team that year.
Do you feel like doing The Push-Up Challenge helps you feel more connected?
For me, participating in something that connects family members, friends and colleagues from across the country is so powerful. So many people are coming together to do something. It is a beautiful thing to be a part of; it's inspiring.
Being able to stay connected to people through the Push For Better app, you wake up, like, "Who's done their push-ups?" It's engaging and accessible, while being fun along the way.
It's nice to feel like you're providing value, even if you don't realise it at the time. People take on little bits at a time. Hopefully, it will change how they think about their health and influence their understanding of caring for and prioritising their own needs.
Do you feel that doing The Push-Up Challenge improves people's mental health awareness?
You collect all the little nuggets of knowledge with the daily Mental Health Facts, it's daily bite-size education. It enables people to arm themselves with life-enhancing knowledge in a non-prescriptive, approachable way. You can implement things that are suggested into your life.
Can you share about your work as a lived experience worker in the mental health space?
When my friend passed away, I felt a sense of duty; it was profound, causing something within me to shift. I have found a way to survive; I must show up in this field now.
When I lost my dad, it further cemented that feeling, that duty. Over time, trying to transform grief is like trying to churn it into some kind of butter that won't kill you; grief is love with nowhere to go. And yet, that love must go somewhere.
I love my work. Being in this together with someone during their time of need is an honour. It is a real privilege. As a bonus, it honours my dad. He dedicated his life's work to improving the lives of others. He serves as a guiding light that inspires me, despite not physically being here anymore. My relationship with him is very much alive. I’m still figuring it out.
Just having someone else there who has been through what you're going through can be the most powerful thing for people experiencing mental illness. Is this why you're passionate about integrating peer work into mental health services in Australia?
So much literature unanimously points to how vital lived experience is in bettering the mental health system. I have seen and felt the mutually transformational relationships that form through peer work.
We can utilise lived expertise to inform systems-level transformation. The felt experience of the person accessing the service matters; that's what counts. I think it will take some time, luckily, many people are doing fantastic work in the lived experience space to drive social change.
What do you do in your day-to-day life these days to maintain your mental wellbeing?
I'm someone who has a lifelong mental health condition. There's no magic cure. Therefore, discipline is required to maintain my health. Equally important, to show up in this work, I must intentionally do things that prioritise care for myself.
For example, I think about taking my medication like having to 'pay my insurance' - I must take my meds every day. I do it first thing in the morning and check it off a list on the fridge, so I have physical evidence that I've done that.
You can also build wellness into work hours. Sometimes, my colleagues and I will have our meeting as a walk. Another example is if you have to do something that might induce anxiety or be a high-pressure meeting or something like that. Having the foresight to pre-plan someone to talk to later, like a debrief buddy, family member, or friend, really helps.
Sleep is also a big one for me. One bad night's sleep means I have to prioritise a good sleep the following night.
Building in little systems and hacks like that lets me know clearly and loudly when something's missing, or if I've over-extended myself.
None of this is groundbreaking; it's just stuff you learn for survival when that's what's required.
What would you say to other people who may be struggling with their mental health?
It's about being conscious and unapologetic about your needs. Prioritise your health and identify the ingredients that will protect your health. First, it requires discovering what those ingredients are for yourself, and it's deeply personal. Then, implement them into your life. Bit by bit, you'll start to see tiny little shifts.
Identify your needs, what things sustain you, what things spark joy for you, what things make your heart sing. Then you can map them out intentionally and go, "Hey, I want all that stuff in my life. I deserve to live a full life."
Do you feel proud of where you have come to in your own journey?
I take a lot of pride in what I show up to do because it's needed, and I am proud to show up to do it. I wasn't born dreaming of being a lived experience worker in the mental health sector. However, I hold a lot of love for the journey that's brought me here.
Life is weird and wonderful. Life is precious, and we deserve to live full and with our whole hearts. I trust in the process, and that's all you can do. I wouldn't be who I am without all the different things that have happened in my life.
So, why are you doing The Push-Up Challenge for the fifth time in 2024?
I don't do stuff that I don't believe in. The impact of the Challenge is undeniable. It proves you don't have to be some fancy person in a swanky office to get something done. Anyone can try to make a difference.
Look at what this Challenge achieves every single year. So far, it has generated over $40 million for mental health!
It's fun. It's meaningful. It's engaging. It's educational. It's connective. People get to connect with other people. There's a sense of collective purpose. We're all trying to enhance or uplift each other for a common cause. So that's why I keep showing up.
What would you say to someone who's considering doing The Push-Up Challenge this year?
Why not? What are you doing instead?
Sign up to The Push-Up Challenge to join the push for better mental health.
This year, Serena’s team, Hope Floats, is aiming to raise $10,000 for Lifeline as part of The Push-Up Challenge. Donate to her cause.
Read more Lived Experience stories from other Aussies who have been impacted by mental illness.
