Riley Jeeves says better access to mental health support services would have saved him years of "trial and error" in managing his depression. Photo / Alex Cairns
Everything in Riley Jeeves’ life seemed “sweet”.
“I had recently moved, got a big promotion. I was doing all my hobbies. Everything was going extremely well.”
Then one morning, the Bay of Plenty man woke up and the world looked very different.
“My head was gone. I was down.”
Now Jeeves, 26, says easier access to mental health support services could have saved him “years of trial and error”.
He has called on the government to make spending on mental health a priority, and New Zealand’s first Minister for Mental Health says the system must be prepared to support 20 per cent of the country’s population during their lifetimes.
Whakatāne-raised Jeeves moved to Tauranga last year.
“Everything in my life was sweet but I was in the lowest period of my life at the time. I just couldn’t switch it. I just couldn’t shake it.”
Eventually, Jeeves was able to set up an appointment with a private therapist but he recognises that “going private” is not an option for everybody.
“You need to be financially stable to talk to a shrink.
“The cost is pushing $100 a session. A lot of people don’t have a spare $100 to spend. If you’re living paycheque to paycheque and you’re battling, another financial stressor on top of that’s not going to help.”
The alternative, Jeeves said, was to spend a long time on waiting lists.
“It’s just a bit of a broken system at the moment.”
Jeeves had been experiencing bouts of depression and depressive episodes since he was about 17.
“I just sort of had to carry on and stiff-upper-lip it.”
The loss of his big brother Luther to testicular cancer six years ago motivated Jeeves to speak out about mental health. Luther would have turned 30 in December.
“Growing up, he was my best mate. Our days were spent coming home from school, playing rugby until dinner, fishing on Sunday.
“Every memory I have had since I was little, he was there.”
Luther moved to Australia when he was 17. Some years later, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which eventually took his life.
“He never talked to a doctor [after the diagnosis] and never told anybody.”
Jeeves said most of the losses he had experienced in his life were due to either cancer or suicide.
While the 26-year-old said he couldn’t cure cancer, he felt he had to speak out about mental health.
“I’ve been the person who’s carried coffins. I’ve also been in extremely low spots where I didn’t think I would make it out of it.”
Jeeves had worked out his own “ways of dealing” through “years of trial and error”.
“I’ve got my close circle. I know I can rock up to their door at 2am and have a cup of tea. Sometimes it’s about sitting down at the beach and fishing, having that time to process, to think about what’s causing this and how I can work on it.”
But easier access to therapy would have made him happier in the long run.
“I wouldn’t have lost as much time struggling.”
Jeeves said at least the first three sessions of therapy needed to be funded for everyone and people with longer-term ongoing struggles should be able to get therapy for free for as long as it was necessary.
“Right now, unless you know where you’re looking it’s hard to find help.”
When the Bay of Plenty Times approached the Mental Health Foundation for information on what support was currently funded a spokesperson said there was “no complete national list”.
“Most funded adult mental health services are run through the hospital community mental health teams and most will require a referral from your GP.”
However, the spokesperson said in the Bay of Plenty people could self-refer to services.
According to the latest Ministry of Health numbers, there were 565 suspected self-inflicted deaths in New Zealand last financial year.
Jeeves shared his story after briefings to incoming government ministers were proactively released to the public last week.
The briefing to Police Minister Mark Mitchell said in the 2022/2023 financial year police attended 77,043 events involving a person having a mental health crisis, in distress or threatening suicide.
“The time taken for us to resolve these events is increasing,” the briefing said.
“Mental health events have increased by 152 per cent and threatens/attempts suicide events by 92 per cent between 2013 and 2023.”
The briefing to Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey said self-reported levels of distress and substance use harms are increasing.
Speaking to the Times, Doocey said he wanted to work across the whole of government with his colleagues to address mental health needs.
He had three priorities as minister - access, workforce and early intervention.
“We have to create enough support for 20 per cent of the population to receive mental health support at some stage in their lives.
“The biggest barrier is the mental health workforce crisis. The reason why people are stuck on waiting lists is because there are too many vacancies.”
Doocey said the Government wanted to increase the number of psychologists and psychiatrists being trained.
“We’ll work with each profession to understand some of the constraints they’re facing and then look to unblock those constraints.”
He would also work to fund grassroots non-government and community organisations “who are already doing the work”.
“We don’t want the money to be stuck in Wellington.
“We have committed to funding Gumboot Friday $6 million a year. We’re committed to funding the Mental Health Innovation Fund that will work with community organisations for them to be able to scale up,” he said.
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
Maryana Garcia is a regional reporter writing for the Rotorua Daily Post and the Bay of Plenty Times. She covers local issues, health and crime.
The circumstances around the death are being treated as unexplained.