By Mark Furler
Publication Date: 2026-05-05 02:29:00
A teenager bullied online takes his own life, leaving family and friends with the question that can never be fully answered: Why?
A husband gets so far down a rabbit hole of internet conspiracy theories that he no longer trusts anyone in uniform.
A man indoctrinated by online hate groups commits a terrorist attack that kills several people.
These are just some of the more extreme examples of a global mental health epidemic affecting approximately one billion people.
For many others, the struggle is just getting out of bed, let alone holding down a job and taking care of family or themselves.
In Queensland, around 800 people take their own lives every year, and many others attempt it.
Men continue to be disproportionately affected, accounting for 78.3% of all suspected suicide deaths in 2024, with a rate 3.7 times higher than that of women.
While there are some excellent mental health services in Australia and 24-hour helplines such as Lifeline and Kids Helpline, the grim reality is that people…
