Jacquie Lambie has spoken out about her mental health issues, saying she was so determined to end her life that she wrote suicide notes to her children, only to wake up in a psychiatric ward.
The independent senator from Tasmania spoke candidly about her personal struggles in former Liberal MP John Brogden’s book Profiles In Hope. The book also details the mental health struggles of 14 other well-known Australians, including James Packer.
Senator Lambie’s troubles began in 2000, when she was medically discharged from the Australian Defence Force after injuring her spine during a field exercise.
She was embroiled in a lawsuit for about seven years against the Department of Veterans Affairs, which tried to claim she had not been injured, despite her crippling pain.
Mrs Lambie eventually won the case, but lost almost everything: she lived on benefits, was a single mother of two children and was addicted to painkillers.
In the book, she told Mr. Brogden, “The reason I was depressed was because of the pain. I just couldn’t deal with it.”
‘In mid-August 2009, I couldn’t live with the pain anymore. I had had enough. I left some letters to the children.’
Senator Jacqui Lambie (pictured) has spoken openly about her mental health struggles in a new book
Jacqui Lambie suffered a serious spinal injury during a training exercise while in the army (pictured)
Mrs Lambie said she wrote the letters three weeks beforehand because she knew she was going to commit suicide but didn’t yet know how.
After her attempt, she woke up in the hospital to find that she had been in an induced coma for 48 hours.
“I had my two sons standing there and my father. And the looks on their faces, I’ll never forget it. It was horrific. They were saying, ‘Why?’” she recalled.
She said her life changed completely when she was admitted to a psychiatric ward and given the painkillers she needed.
Once I [the pain] “Now that the depression is under control, it’s gone,” she said.
Ms Lambie has previously said she entered politics because she did not want others to have the same problems she had.
On Monday morning, she spoke about a series of recommendations that emerged from a three-year Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, which she worked on in 2022.
‘Although we all went out and aired our grievances, [there are] “There are many who are still serving,” she said.
Jacqui Lambie entered politics because she didn’t want anyone else to go through her ordeal
Senator Lambie is pictured with her son Dylan in 2016. She previously thanked him for caring for her as her mental health deteriorated.
But the hard work starts today, that’s the truth.
“We need someone to ensure that these recommendations are implemented as quickly as possible and that the recommendations, the legislation, are correct and serve their purpose.”
Ms Lambie testified before the Royal Commission in 2022 and burst into tears as she spoke about her experience.
She said: ‘I want to thank my two sons who have been through a lot and had to watch their mother deteriorate so much over a period of 10 years and then see it end.’
The senator told the inquiry that her youngest son, Dylan, struggled with a methamphetamine addiction.
She addressed him directly, in front of the cameras, and said, “To my youngest son, I know you paid a very, very high price for what you had to do to take care of me for all this time, and I know you are still paying the price for that.
“Thank you. And I will speak for you and tell them what you’ve been through and the impact it’s had on your life. So, thank you very much.”
The results of the Royal Commission will be presented to Parliament on Monday.
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