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s part of Ministry of Sport Brain Health Week last month, in association with Digital Health Organization, Mind Medicine Australia director, Professor Jane Burns, spoke to Ministry of Sport founder, Ben Parsons, about youth suicide and mental health in sport.

“We’re going to have to really work hard as a community and as a society to think about how we keep ourselves connected and continue to evolve new ways of connecting and what that actually looks like…,” Professor Burns told Ministry of Sport.

“We’ve really lost that connection, and we almost have to reimagine what that looks like, whether that’s simple things around gratitude, just being grateful that it’s a sun-shining day, or the fact you are able to go for a walk or smile at someone.

“They are really little things, but they make such a big difference to just maintain the sense of ‘we are going to get through this, and we have to find ways to keep ourselves positive’.

“I think the second part of it is, in a perfect world, we want to get back to the way we build community and shape society, which is the sense of belonging, and connecting with sport plays such a big role in that.

“We need to reimagine what that potentially looks like, so the local footy clubs, the local sport clubs, the clubs play such a big role including both being a part of the community but also volunteering within those communities.

“So gratitude, connection, and volunteering are three things that actually make a big difference,” she said.

To watch the rest of Professor Burns’ discussion with Ben Parsons as part of Ministry of Sport’s Brain Health Week, in association with Digital Health Organization, click here.