It was January 26, 2015 and Lukas Webb hosted an Australia Day party near his family home in Lakes Entrance.

It was kind of gathering held all over the country, and a picture from the day shows lots of happy, smiling young faces.

“It was a good day, a great day, I loved it," Webb remembered.

Except it was the last time he’d see his close friend Jake.

“[He] come over to me, put his hand out, we did our usual handshake that we did and said, ‘I’ve got to go, I’ve got to work in the morning, so I’ll speak to you later.”

After that, for the then 18-year-old Webb it was all a blur.

“It’s just the way the policeman articulated his words.. when I heard what he said, that Jake had taken his life, I immediately broke down,” he said.

“No one had any idea that he was struggling.  Not one person, his closest friends or his family had no idea, he was one of the happiest people you’d know.”

Webb has told his story as part of the Better Out Than Incampaign, an initiative of the AFLPA in conjunction with Beyond Blue, the Movember Foundation, MATES in Construction and  La Trobe University, aimed at reducing the stigma associated with anxiety, depression and/or suicide amongst Australian men aged 30 to 64 years.

“If he had of come up and said ‘hey, I need some help, I’m struggling, noone would have batted an eye-lid,” he said.

But he didn’t, and Webb said he hopes by sharing his first-hand experience that people might think about how they can help people suffering with depression.

“It’s something that we shouldn’t take for granted, that connection you can have with a person, you know, shaking their hand, looking them in the eye and asking them how they are.

“People with mental illnesses need help and they only way they can get help is to tell at least one person that they’re feeling that way.”

Based on the premise that sharing and hearing real-life stories about mental illness is one of the most powerful ways of reducing self-stigma, Better Out Than In is an easy-to-use online platform with a strong emphasis on storytelling and easy access to support strategies and services. 

To access Better Out Than In click here.