Mental health advocate helps out others

Twenty two-year-old Nick Robinson has been living in Wongan Hills since 2019 and has started using his large TikTok and Instagram followings to normalise the conversation about mental health, particularly for guys who look like him.

It was almost a year ago to the date that Mr Robinson posted his first TikTok video about mental health - he was going through a hard time at work and having dealt with anxiety in the past, he wanted people to know there was nothing wrong with getting help.

"The gist was that if you've got a sore leg, you go to the physio and if you've got sore teeth you go to the dentist, so what's going on in your mind shouldn't be any different," Mr Robinson said.

"It was really spurred by what I went through growing up and what I've dealt with in my own head space which is something I wouldn't wish on anyone."

For as long as he could remember, he struggled with anxiety and put a lot of pressure on himself when it came to pretty much everything which really took its toll over the years.

That pressure was purely self-inflicted, with his parents never really understanding how he could be so hard on himself, even to this day.

"I remember at the year four sports carnival just bawling my eyes out because I knew I could win the 100 metre race, but the thought of not winning was a type of pressure my mind couldn't comprehend," he said.

"I played tennis growing up and because my dad was a coach I always had this thought that I had to be the best, so sport has always been hard and I've broken a fair few racquets in my time.

"Eventually that branched off into school and that also became a struggle - if I got top of the class once I expected to be top of the class every time and it just wasn't enjoyable."

When he was in year 10 and found out that there was a pathway that meant he didn't have to do exams, Mr Robinson went down that route because he knew he wouldn't cope with the pressure.

Mr Robinson said when he was younger, his mum really didn't know how to deal with the anxiety episodes that he would have.

"Being a young bloke and being so emotional was hard and I hated that about myself - I was always crying over things and getting upset, people around me weren't like that and in my head I was different and really struggled with that," he said.

"I would get really angry at myself and agro was my trigger word because I was never a violent kid but I would just beat myself up.

"I first went to a psychologist in year eight because I knew I wanted to change - I hated what I had to deal with even at such a young age."

As Mr Robinson got older and started to become more independent, he learned to accept that he was an emotional guy.

Through being around different people, jobs and environments, he started acknowledging who he was, appreciating that and realising he could use it to his advantage.

"I've learned how to deal with who I am - I can't go and play golf without throwing a club as I know I can hit a perfect swing and it gets to me when I don't, so I just don't play golf," he said.

"I've learned to deal with it and I just don't do those things anymore, so I eliminate the things that trigger that side of me."

While his first mental health TikTok a year ago received a favourable response, it was the only one he had posted on the topic up until about two months ago, when he decided to post content more serious in nature on a regular basis.

That content now ranges from conversations around getting help, to Mr Robinson's personal stories about his hardships and even his thoughts on the notion of "it's not all men", which included an easy to understand explanation of why in fact it really is all men.

In his videos, he tries to have conversations with people and make it as relatable as possible.

"I don't have the look of someone who's your standard mental health advocate and I think that's why it resonates with people," he said.

"I love seeing guys who are your stereotypical blokey blokes following me on TikTok and knowing that they will see my content and get something from it.

"Blokes don't really listen to women when it comes to this stuff, which is ridiculous, but when it's someone who acts like them and looks like them, it's so much more relatable."

While Mr Robinson wants to help as many people as he can, making the videos takes its toll and sometimes he does need a break.

"I'm all for being vulnerable but it's actually really draining making them and I need to be in the right mindset to do it," he said.

"I can't talk about something unless I'm fired up about it, so I need to be emotionally engaged and sometimes I will delete all of my social media apps, even if it's for half a day, because I need a break."

With 79,000 followers on TikTok and 9000 on Instagram, Mr Robinson is becoming well known in WA, especially when he heads to Perth for the weekend.

While he does get a kick out of being recognised when he's out and about, ultimately it's the messages from people who say he's helped that mean the most.

"I've got messages from people saying I saved their lives and it gives me goosebumps," he said.

"I've had middle-aged women message me to say I helped their partner open up, or someone will say they shared what I posted and that led to someone else opening up to them, and to me that's what it's all about."

Mr Robinson is particularly motivated to help young blokes like him - 14 or 15-year-old kids who are going through school and puberty who don't know how to be or how to feel.

"I don't strive to help every single person who sees my videos, but if I can just help one or two people, even if 10,000 people see it, then that's a win for me," he said.

"As long as there are people out there struggling I will keep posting videos, and unfortunately there are always going to be those people."