Faculty of Veterinary Science alumnus named WA’s “Most Inspiring Man”
Press release
25 September 2008
A veterinarian who studied for five years at the Faculty of Veterinary Science has been named Western Australia’s Most Inspiring Man of the Year.
Peter Symons was chosen by a women’s group in recognition of work he has done to tackle depression – and his own powerful life story.
The former Bendigo boy helped develop a new theory to explain depression, entitled “Brain Fuel Depletion. At last, making sense of anxiety and depression”.
In doing so, he drew upon his own experiences – he has survived three brain haemorrhages, major brain surgery twice, a battle with suicidal depression and a stroke.
Peter, who was at the University of Melbourne from 1975 to 1979, said: “After my third brain haemorrhage [in 2001] I became depressed for six months – it was shocking and got worse to the point where I was having a lot of anxiety and panic attacks and suffering from insomnia.
“I was suicidal, but didn’t feel depressed. I had medical knowledge and colleagues I could have consulted. Despite those advantages I was embarrassed to have a mental health problem and could not make any sense of what was actually wrong with me.”
Peter, who moved to Western Australia in 1984 and eventually became the Official Veterinarian for the Western Australian Turf Club in 1988 after a number of years working in mixed practice and on a horse stud in Victoria, joined forces with Dr Clyde Jumeaux, a doctor in general practice.
Dr Jumeaux was already considering new models to explain depression. Together they came up with the Brain Fuel Depletion model they believe offers an explanation of depression that sufferers can easily understand.
“We just say, ‘Excess stress depletes your neurotransmitters (or ‘brain fuels’) and markedly increases your adrenaline level,” he said.
“These two aspects explain the myriad symptoms that can occur including anxiety and insomnia (excess adrenaline), sadness, loss of concentration and physical symptoms (depletion of neurotransmitters) and suicidality (both).
But it is his personal story that ensures their message sinks in. Having survived so many traumas, Peter has gone on to complete a duo swim of the English Channel and climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
Now the Official Veterinarian for Racing and Wagering WA, he won a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2003 for the study of Blood testing and Genetic Doping in Athletes;, and has compiled a DVD and book on Brain Fuel Depletion with Dr Jumeaux.
“A lot of people find it hard to talk about depression, but when I get up and talk from the heart about how it’s logical to consider killing yourself and they see that I’ve been as bad as you can be and got over it, that gives them hope,” he said.
“With 1.1million Australians suffering from depression and that predicted to rise to 4million, some of whom will commit suicide, the scale of the problem is massive.
“I want to ensure that no one spends five minutes like I spent six horrendous months.”
The award was given to Peter by the Momentum Women’s Forum, a group that supports and raises awareness for beyondblue, the national depression initiative.
For further information please contact Hinalei Johnston, Marketing & Communications Manager, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne, Tel: 8344 7844 or email: h.johnston@unimelb.edu.au