Kintsugi Heroes
Wayne Wigham
After 40 years of misdiagnosis, Wayne found the right treatment and spent 17 years teaching men that asking for help is strength.
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
Wayne Wigham spent 40 years living with depression without knowing what it was. As a kid in North Ryde, he was quiet and struggled with overwhelming sadness, even when he was surrounded by friends and the ocean. His parents took him to Ryde Mental Health Centre as a young boy, but the sedatives just made him fall asleep at school. Rugby union saved him. His father had put him into the sport as an under-8, and it became his life. The endorphins, the mateship, the physical exhaustion of training masked his depression and kept him alive through his playing years. When he switched to rugby league at 14, he made his way into the first grade, eventually playing for Balmain in the 1970s. The backline was something special: Polynesian, Māori, Indigenous, and Lebanese players who saw each other as teammates, not tribes. Wayne bonded with blokes who were quietly struggling too, though none of them knew it at the time.
After leaving professional league, Wayne joined the fire brigade and played A-grade, but then everything fell apart. He self-medicated, lost his marriage, spent time in four public psychiatric wards, and became a recluse for five years. He was suicidal and treatment-resistant, undergoing 18 ECT treatments at North Ryde Psych Centre while his medication was changed. Nothing worked until one day, on a run, the cloud lifted. Professor Gordon Parker at the Black Dog Institute had finally diagnosed him correctly with melancholia. For the first time in his life, Wayne felt normal.
That diagnosis changed everything. For the past 17 years, Wayne has been talking to men in mining camps, workplaces, and clubs across the country about depression. He treats them straight and never backs down. When his own son finally put his hand up and said he had been hiding depression too, Wayne knew everything he had endured was worth it. His message is simple: if treatment doesn't work the first time, go back. It is not an exact science. Get the right diagnosis, do the work, and you will get well.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief & loss, 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 • GriefLine: 1300 845 745 · griefline.org.au
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