Kintsugi Heroes
Lance Burdett · 62 min
A man who grew up moving constantly, struggled with undiagnosed ADHD and explosive anger, and nearly lost everything to depression mid-career, Lance Burdett transformed his hardest years into a life's work helping others feel less alone.
Lance Burdett grew up moving constantly around New Zealand, never staying in one place long enough to build friendships. He struggled with undiagnosed ADHD that made him the class clown, angry at things he couldn't control, and convinced he didn't fit anywhere. School report cards, which his mother kept, later revealed what no one had told him: that his brain worked differently. By his twenties, he was angry, self-medicating with alcohol, and exhausted by a life that felt like it was happening to him rather than for him.
At 35, Lance joined the police force after seeing officers who seemed to have found their place. At police college, a behavioral science tutor told him the truth his parents had never known: no one had shown him how to learn with his brain. He worked out his own method, writing things down repeatedly on different surfaces and in different spaces until the knowledge stuck. He became a detective, then a crisis negotiator, eventually leading New Zealand's crisis negotiation program. But success came with a cost. As a detective sergeant, overwhelmed by paperwork and feeling stripped of control, he found himself standing at a photocopier with dark thoughts. Because he understood what was happening to him as a trained negotiator, he recognized the warning signs and got help instead.
A psychologist who refused to hand him pills sent him to a dietitian and gave him a book called You Can Heal Your Life. That decision changed everything. Lance left policing after 22 years and started his own business, initially struggling until his wife pushed him to pour his heart into it for two weeks. Now he works with city councils across New Zealand, teaching people and institutions how to treat each other as people, not objects. His message to anyone going through something with no visible end is simple: it will get better if you keep moving forward, even if you fall back and have to get up again.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses suicide & self-harm prevention, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au
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