Hello, and thanks for joining me. I'm Ruth McKellar, and I'm a telephone crisis supporter at Lifeline. I'm one of the voices you may hear if you call for support. When people find out that I volunteer for Lifeline, I'm often asked what led me to doing the work. So I'd love to share a little bit about my own story. At the age of 15, my dad took his own life. At that time of life, I didn't know what suicide really was, or the impact that could have. Yet over that time, I've learned to acknowledge suicide, what it means for me, my family, and most importantly, my late father. Over those years, I've wanted to create an impact that can really drive more conversations around mental health, but also ensure that people can have that hope by calling Lifeline. Four years ago, I was luckily involved and got given the opportunity to undergo training with Lifeline. And since then, I've never looked back. Four years later, here I am able to take you through what is some amazing journeys people have had, but also to ensure that everyone can hold on to hope, and most importantly, can always reach out to Lifeline. I found that sharing my story is a powerful way of helping others. And this is why I'm so passionate about hosting this series. If you're not quite ready to talk, perhaps you'll find comfort by listening to the stories of people who have experienced the value of reaching out for help. On today's episode of Holding on to Hope I'll be speaking with Lizzie. Lizzie is a lifeline help seeker life mentor and emotional health advocate. Lizzie was sexually abused by a close family member for nearly seven years as a child. Lizzie struggled with addictions, binge eating, drinking self-loathing. And perfectionism constantly lived with guilt, shame, pain and internal anger. At 27 she opened up to her father about the years of abuse. Not long after she reached rock bottom, her darkest hour, she contemplated ending her own life. It was then she reached out to Lifeline for help, and started her journey of healing and wellbeing. Now Lizzie has found inspiration, forgiveness, connection and her true purpose to live free, happy and inspire others to do the same. Lizzie, thank you so much for being on today's podcast. It's a real pleasure to obviously meet you before we jump deep into your journey and your story and how you became involved with Lifeline and gave our number a call. Can you just tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.