Erin Molan opens up on ‘brutal’ mental health battles

Erin Molan is used to putting up a persona she shows to the public but behind the walls she erects around herself a daily battle is being fought. She opens up on the importance of mental health and how her father’s death pushed her to the edge.

It was early January this year, a couple of weeks before dad passed away, when I realised I needed help.

It wasn’t just dad, mind you the decline in his condition was unbearable.

It was a number of things.

I’m 39-years-old and regardless of how blessed my life has been in countless ways, there have been just as many challenges.

Some are public, given the nature of the work I do and the media profile I have acquired, but most of them are private.

Erin Molan with her father Jim Molan... her father’s recent death had a profound effect. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The ones that have really caused me pain have never been discussed in newspapers or magazines, and most likely never will be.

I say most likely because I never thought I’d share this either, but when I read this week that lower-income Australians are being priced out of mental health care I felt sick.

As a new convert to this phenomenon the Americans call ‘therapy’, I feel a passionate need to speak up and use my platform.

I sat on a chair at the hospital around the corner from dad’s room and slid into the Instagram DMs of a psychologist I’d followed online for a few years.

Erin Molan is focusing on her mental health not just for herslef, but also for her daughter Eliza. Picture: Jonathan Ng

I look back now at the message and it reeked of desperation. For good reason. It was.

My plea for help was answered and I can honestly say that I don’t know if I’d still be functioning right now had it not been.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a work in progress and it’s been brutal at times.

I’m not a ‘talk about your feelings’ kind of girl, nor do I enjoy reliving past traumas, but I can promise you that finally facing this head on will be the greatest thing I ever do.

And not just for me but for my daughter.

Seeing a psychologist isn’t for everyone.

I think most people would benefit in some way but some human beings are genuinely lucky enough to have life figured out for the most part and good on them.

It’s those who struggle that I worry about and I can assure you it’s far more Australians than you might think.

In fact statistics confirm nearly half of us will be affected by mental illness at some time in our life.

Erin Molan’s media persona is careful not to reflect the personal battles she faces every day. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Despite the prevalence of this illness, and the varying forms and gravity of its symptoms, the stigma surrounding mental health remains and while it might be slowly lifting, that needs to happen at a much faster rate.

Many of the most successful and high-profile Australians invest in their mental health in some way but often discreetly.

Our younger generation, when facing mental health struggles, generally see things differently.

They are much more open and seem to have no shame in talking about it.

And yes you might think it’s because some of them are ‘woke’ and ‘entitled’ and subscribe to a modern form of ‘victim mentality’ — and that may be true in some cases — but even then an acknowledgement of the importance of mental health must never be met with derision and must be identified as an essential first step in eradication, permanently, of that obscene stigma I’ve referred to above.

Life can be, and for the most part is, quite challenging at times for all of us.

And acknowledging that doesn’t make us ‘soft’.

There are aspects of life today that older Australians would look at and think are much easier for those who have come after them.

Erin Molan at her father’s funeral earlier this year. Picture: NCA NewsWire

I agree with that but I also think younger Australians are entitled to look at some elements of the ‘good old days’ and conclude that they’re the ones who are doing it tough.

It actually doesn’t matter whether you were born in the 1950s or 2000s, nor whether you’ve endured war, a great depression or covid lockdowns — if things are getting too hard, you should be able to get help.

In a country like Australia, access to mental health services should be as easy as going to a GP and I know that’s no piece of cake these days either for a lot of people.

The new government was criticised heavily for reducing subsidised psychological sessions when they came into power.

The original 10 available to patients was increased to 20 during covid lockdowns and, while I’m no fan of governments footing the bill for every single service, I am confident that this reversal hasn’t got the balance right.

I now know first hand how expensive it is to see a psychologist but am fortunate enough not to have to make a choice between that and paying off my mortgage.

Australians who need help and were getting it now have to stop.

The cost of living crisis is hitting hard and mental health plans are often the type of expenses that are the first to go.

It should never be a choice between paying for groceries and seeking help for your mental health.

Resilience is an admirable trait and those who ask for help have it in spades.

Unsubsidised sessions can cost hundreds of dollars for an hour and even with a rebate this support is too expensive for far too many.

In a country like Australia your socio-economic status should never determine your ability to get medical help, whether that’s a broken bone or mental health.

Most people have experienced both and I know what I’d rather deal with every single day of the week — and it’s not my head.

Originally published as Erin Molan opens up on ‘brutal’ mental health battles