Unpacking anxiety, and redefining masculinity with William Balme

In Depth & In Focus

What does it mean to be a good man? Is it to provide for your family? Or maybe it’s being true to your word. It’s a big, complex question, because masculinity can take shape in many different forms.
Growing up for William, his masculinity was very much defined by his ability to live up to his father’s stature, AFL legend Neil Balme, as a talented footballer.
The internalised pressure to be someone he wasn’t, continued into adulthood, manifesting into crippling anxiety and depression, and a diagnosis of Generalised Anxiety Disorder saw William’s whole world fall apart.
After finding solace in writing a series of intimate letters to his anxiety, he made the brave decision to release them publicly as part of an online blog. The response and amount of people that resonated with his experience was overwhelming.
Releasing his letters has since led him to starting his own mental health initiative and podcast, The Ebbs & the Flows, and the production of our own documentary, Letters To Anxiety. If you’ve seen the doco, you’ll already know that William wears his heart on his sleeve, and this episode was no exception. Whether you've experienced your own battle with mental health or not, this is well worth a listen.
William has completely redefined his own version of masculinity through softness, vulnerability and showing raw emotion. He lays everything bare in this episode, as he recounts his extraordinary journey from being his own worst critic, to embracing the fact that he’s just a work in progress, as we all are.
This In Depth & In Focus, with William Balme.